FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Raleigh, NC--The Phoenix Coyotes, lead by The Great One, made a rare trip to Raleigh on Friday. The Coyotes entered the RBC Center weathering a three game losing streak; while the Hurricanes were in search of a third straight win at home. The Coyotes drew first blood on the power play nearly half way through the first period. Eric Staal answered back six minutes later with the first of many to come. As the period was winding down the Coyote Captain, Shane Doan fired one from the left wing to send the Canes to the locker room down by one.

A new period led to the emergence of a new found energy for the Canes. Eight minutes into the second period Eric Staal received a beautiful pass on the doorstep of the crease and fired another one home against Bryzgalov, to tie the game 2-2. With less than a minute left on the clock and the Hurricanes bringing the offensive pressure, Scott Walker centered a beautiful pass from the corner to Mr. Staal to complete the hatter and put the surging hurricanes up 3-2. The Hurricanes turned the game around and generated some good offense in the second period outshooting the Coyotes 13-7.

Riding high on a successful and energized period the Canes fought hard to hold onto their slim lead. Ray Whitney joined in on the scoring barrage firing a laser to put the canes up 4-2 late in the third. In desperation the Coyotes went with a 6-on-5 attack that proved costly as the Wizard put home an empty-netter to chain up the "desert dogs" for good.

The Hurricanes fought back hard and sealed up the inevitable three straight with the emergence of the real Eric Staal. Staal who has been unusually quiet lately has purged himself of his slump, and will hopefully keep the much-needed contributions coming. The Canes are looking better, with Samsonov finally scoring his first against Montreal, Eric Staal completing a hat-trick against the Coyotes, and as a team Carolina put three straight wins together at home to crawl closer to the Caps tight grip on the Southeast.

The Hurricanes look to complete a four game home winning streak tomorrow against the Nashville Predators. The Canes have gone 3-2-1 against the West, but only 1-2-0 against Western opponents at home. Last season, Carolina lost a goaltenders' duel 0-1 in Nashville. The Hurricanes are in dire need of all possible points as they missed the playoffs the previous two seasons, missing last season's playoffs by two points.

Personal Note: If there was one team in all of sports I had to pledge my allegiance to, it would be the Canes. As a young boy from Eastern North Carolina, I grew up in a place where hockey was a foreign sport that was played only by northerners. Even at a young age I enjoyed the watching the sport, which I learned about through Disney's "Mighty Ducks." When the Whalers relocated to Carolina, I was ecstatic! I finally had a hockey team to call my own. When I was nine years old, I attended my first Hurricanes game in Greensboro and was hooked for life. I eat, sleep, and breathe Hurricanes and I will live and die by the Cane, not the Whale.