Carolina's game against the Ottawa Senators had all the makings of a disappointment for the home team. We've seen the Hurricanes get shut down by opposing goalie a few times this year and it looked like it was going to happen again tonight as Senators goalie Craig Anderson played about as good of a game as you can ask for. Carolina played their best first period of the season, outchancing Ottawa 7-2 at one point, but Anderson turned down just about everything that was thrown his way. It took a deflection by Eric Staal to finally beat him with less than five minutes remaining in the first period and after that, Carolina played a very smart game in all three zones to take home 1-0 win.

The biggest complaint i had with the Hurricanes performance against the Bruins on Monday was that they were playing "not to lose" in the third period rather than trying to win. This wasn't the case tonight. There were some moments where Ottawa controlled the pace of play, but Carolina did continue to press and create chances for themselves in the second and third periods. They just couldn't get anything past Anderson, something that many other teams have struggled with this season. The defense also did a nice job of keeping most of Ottawa's shots to the outside and when they did let them slip through, Dan Ellis was there to backstop them. Ellis definitely played a good game and made more than a few great saves, but the team in front of him also did a great job of keeping Ottawa's top players in check. This was just the kind of game the Hurricanes needed before their two-week road trip which begins tomorrow night in Philadelphia

Ottawa Senators at Carolina Hurricanes
PNC Arena, 7 p.m.
TV: FS-Carolinas, Sportsnet-East

The sense of optimism in Raleigh after their back-to-back sweep of the Buffalo Sabres didn't last long as the feelings of gloom and doom returned after the Hurricanes 5-3 loss to the Boston Bruins on Monday night. A bad third period performance is usually a good way to lose confidence in your team, but it's important to be rational in these types of situations. I'm sure that most people had Carolina starting their year better than 2-3-0 and their special teams work has left a lot to be desired so I can understand why some fans are disappointed. That being said, five games is a little too early to hit the panic button and the team has shown signs of improving. The team is right back at .500 if they win tonight's game against Ottawa so they could be in a much worse situation. If they still have only two wins through 10 games, then it's time to start worrying.

Another thing to keep in mind is that their last two losses have come against teams that have dropped only two total games in regulation (Tampa Bay and Boston) so the Canes haven't exactly had the easiest road thus far. It won't get any easier tonight when they take on the rolling Ottawa Senators. Ottawa has won two games in a row and has lost only one game in regulation, so tonight's game is going to be a very tough challenge for the Hurricanes. There are a few reasons to be confident, though with the main one being Justin Faulk's return to the lineup tonight. We could also see some new forward lines and a new-look powerplay if the reports from practice are any indication.

Carolina is going to embark on a two-week road trip after tonight's game, so getting at least a point tonight against Ottawa will be critical. A further breakdown of this game is coming after the jump.

One of the reasons why the Hurricanes acquired Jordan Staal this summer is because he is the type of player who can make the rest of your roster better. We've been over this hundreds of times before, but J. Staal's ability to drive the play and create offense despite playing the toughest minutes on the team allows Kirk Muller to free up some of his other lines to easier minutes. We've seen Muller utilize this strategy by giving Jordan Staal's line the majority of tough minutes while Eric Staal's line has gotten easier zone starts against secondary competition and the third line of Jussi Jokinen, Chad LaRose and Drayson Bowman have gotten some of the "easiest" assignments on the team.

In theory, this strategy makes a lot of sense because the Staal brothers are good enough to handle the toughs and Jokinen was able to efficiently move the puck forward last year in a similar, protected role. So far, one side of this plan has worked out well as Eric Staal's line has done a marvelous job of creating offense and scoring chances but the third line has struggled. One would think that Jokinen, LaRose and Bowman should be able to thrive in a third line role where they aren't being matched up the best that the opposing team has to offer but they haven't been getting the job done. No one on this line has a point yet this season and all three are on the losing end of the scoring chance battle at even strength.

The most alarming thing about their performance thus far is the fact that they haven't been able to push the play forward despite the easier assignments they've been receiving. That and they've been pretty brutal at both ends of the ice in terms of creating and preventing scoring chances.

Jamie McBain's goal on Monday night's game against the Boston Bruins was a bit of a milestone for the Hurricanes. Not only was it the young defenseman's first goal of the season, but it was also the first time all year that the Hurricanes scored in the first period. That's right, it took five games into the year for the Hurricanes to finally score in the first period and they've scored the opening goal only once in those five games, too.

Obviously, this is a very small sample size to work with and it could end up not meaning a lot in the big picture, but I think most Carolina fans would agree that this team has had a problem with slow starts this year. They've been outscored 1-8 in first periods this year and have spent the majority of three games battling back from holes that they dug themselves into. Just what is going wrong for the Canes at the beginning of games, though? Some might say that the team has a tendency to come out sleeping for the first ten minutes like they did in the Bruins game on Monday but getting into penalty trouble is what sunk them against the Florida Panthers on opening night.

Whatever the case is, the Hurricanes really need to start playing better in the opening 20 minutes because a poor start usually sets the tone for the rest of the game. I've mentioned before that the Hurricanes play at 5-on-5 has been pretty solid this year but it would mean a lot more if the team wasn't playing from behind for most of their games. Teams usually outshoot the opposition when they are playing from behind so Carolina having the advantage in shots and scoring chances during even strength play would mean a lot more if they were either tied or leading for most of their games.

Just what is the root of the problem for the Hurricanes in the first period, though? After the jump, we will take a look at how Carolina has played in the first 20 minutes compared to the rest of the game to see if we can find any answers.

The development of former Carolina Hurricanes first round pick Zach Boychuk has been scrutinized heavily in recent seasons. This is his fifth year in the organization and in that time, he has been able to succeed in the AHL but that hasn't translated to success at the next level as Boychuk has played only 73 games in the NHL, scoring seven goals and 18 points during that span. This year was sort of seen as a "final chance" for him with the Hurricanes because he was extended on a one-year contract and he is nearing the age where most high end prospects either reach their peak or fizzle out. Despite leading the AHL's Charlotte Checkers in scoring and entering this season with a lot of promise, it appears that history has repeated itself for Boychuk because he was waived yesterday morning while Andreas Nodl was called up. 

Boychuk has only gotten to play one game with the Hurricanes this season where he was placed on the first line and failed to make much of an impact. He was benched the next game in favor of enforcer Kevin Westgarth and hasn't been used in the lineup since then. You can argue that Boychuk was never given much of a chance with the Hurricanes and this is a valid point because he was stuck on the fourth line for most of Paul Maurice's tenure and was abruptly bench and sent down to the minors after playing a few games with Kirk Muller as head coach. I'd like to think that Boychuk could succeed if he's given top-six minutes but it is clear that opportunity isn't going to happen for him in Carolina and he might be better served either in the AHL or getting a fresh start with a new team who will give him top-six minutes.

It seems like the team was hesitant to waive Boychuk for awhile in fear of him getting claimed off waivers. No team ever wants to lose their players for nothing, especially a former first rounder, but it isn't fair to Boychuk to keep him on the bench for the rest of the year when he could still provide a lot of help to another organization. Boychuk getting claimed off waivers wouldn't be the worst thing in the world either since the Hurricanes weren't using him (although it's a bad reflection on the team's drafting history). Some say that he may have fetched a decent return in a trade but the time to deal him was either one or two years ago when his value was still somewhat high. No one is going to give up much for a player they could have on waivers for nothing. I still think he has a future as an NHL-er, but it's clear that he wasn't a fit in Muller's system and would be better off somewhere else. Whether that place is the AHL or the NHL is to be determined.

The whole Boychuk situation has been frustrating for awhile because his previous track record in the AHL hasn't been terrible in terms of his ability to drive the play forward and the door is somewhat open for him to make the NHL. Boychuk could probably still have a shot at being a third-liner on the Hurricanes with the starts that Chad LaRose and Jussi Jokinen are off to but like I said earlier, Muller does not see him as a fit for his system which is why he was sitting the last few games and why Nodl was called up. Nodl is a player who Muller knows pretty well and fills a need for this team as a defensive forward and someone who can kill penalties. He would thrive in a third or fourth line role while Boychuk has always needed top-six minutes to succeed.

If Boychuk manages to pass through waivers without anyone claiming him, then that's a plus for the Checkers since they get their leading scorer back but what happens if he continues to tear it up in the AHL? If he receives yet another call-up will this whole process be again? Or better yet, will the Hurricanes keep him in the AHL and possibly use him as trade bait in another month or so?  Either way, it will be interesting to see what happens with him in the next 24 hours and I wish him the best.

The prospect reports are going to be presented differently from here on out. Instead of going through each player individually, we're going to go by leagues and note some of the standout performances. The reason for this is because there have often been a lot of cases where there wasn't much to report on for some players because they were either injured, suspended or didn't do much in the previous week. I haven't posted an update on Carolina's NCAA prospects in awhile for exactly that reason. So going through every single prospect every week was getting rather daunting and I thought it would be easier to present everyone's stats and talk about some individual standouts.

There is plenty to talk about on this first installment as Brock McGinn and Ryan Murphy both had tremendous weeks for their respective clubs. We'll talk about them in detail after the jump.

Last night's 5-3 loss to the Boston Bruins was easily the most frustrating loss for the Hurricanes in this young season. The team got off to a poor start and fell in a 2-0 hole but managed to battle back and had the Bruins right where they wanted them at the second intermission. Unfortunately, they could not capitalize on this opportunity and came out flat for the third period which resulted in them being stuck in their own end for most of that frame and the Bruins eventually taking advantage of it by scoring a late third period goal. It was a classic case of one team playing to win and the other simply trying not to lose. Whether this was due to the Canes top players being worn out from playing too many minutes or simply being outworked by the Bruins is something that's up for discussion but either way, it was not pretty to watch.

Scoring chance breakdown coming after the jump.

Many people believed that tonight's game against the Boston Bruins would be a good test for this Carolina team that appears to be on the upswing but still has plenty of kinks to work out before they can be called a contender. The Hurricanes gave the Bruins a good run for their money for the most part in this game but ultimately came up short as the same bad habits occurred yet again and they ended up costing the Hurricanes. Those who have watched these first five games probably know what these said habits are by now; slow starts and bad special teams play.

Carolina got off to an awful start by giving up a shorthanded goal and followed it up by surrendering a powerplay goal shortly after. Their play at even strength was strong for the first two periods or so but the fact that they couldn't do anything with the six powerplays they were given came back to haunt them as it gave them multiple opportunities to get back into the game early on. Despite the bad powerplay, the Canes managed to rally back in the second period on the back of strong five-on-five play and some good linematching by Kirk Muller to eventually tie things up at 3-3 heading into the second intermission. That's when you would think that Carolina would begin to tip the scales in their favor, but they came out flat in the third period, couldn't get any offense going and were dominated by the Bruins. It resulted in David Krejci scoring the game-winner with less than two minutes remaining and the Hurricanes taking their third loss of the season.

The Bruins were playing to win the game while the Hurricanes were simply trying not to lose. Considering that the Bruins are one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference and the Hurricanes were playing with basically five defensemen, things could have been a lot worse, but it's still frustrating to see them a lose a game that they could have won had they not fallen into the same old habits.

Obviously it's a long season and a young team with a lot of new pieces like Carolina are going to suffer some growing pains, but the Hurricanes not being able to create any sort of offense in the third period is a large concern in my eyes. So is their powerplay dropping another goose egg despite getting six attempts and their tendency to come out sleeping for the first 5-10 minutes of a game. They are all fixable errors and they will be corrected in time but there is less time to fix things like this in a shortened season, so the Hurricanes will need to right the ship quickly. Fortunately for them, they have the next few days off before they take on the Ottawa Senators on Friday. That should allow them some time to get healthy and work on some of their flaws in practice before it's too late.

Boston Bruins at Carolina Hurricanes
PNC Arena, 7 p.m.
TV: FS-Carolinas, NESN, NHL Network

Spirits in Raleigh are much higher than they were a week ago, as the Hurricanes come into tonight winning their last two games and look to continue their streak tonight when they take on the Boston Bruins. The Hurricanes managed to sweep the season series with Boston last season and that might surprise a lot of people considering where both teams finished in the standings. They also outscored the Bruins 14-5 in their four meetings last season and right away that should tell you that goaltender Cam Ward, who had a save percentage of .965 against Boston last year, played a big role in the Hurricanes winning those games.

The Canes probably aren't going to be as fortunate against the Bruins this time around because it doesn't look like Ward has any 40+ save performances up his sleeve judging by his performance so far this year. Carolina will also be playing without their best defenseman in Justin Faulk, who sustained an injury in the game against Buffalo on Friday night. This creates a major hole to fill in the lineup because Faulk was playing 20+ minutes a night and playing a big role on the shutdown pair with Tim Gleason. Faulk was also playing at an exceptional level, so filling in his shoes isn't going to be easy.

The good news is that Faulk's injury doesn't appear to be too serious and he has been practicing with the team but getting through the next couple of games without him will be tough. Finding someone to replace him alongside Gleason will be even more difficult because the available options are Jamie McBain and Joe Corvo if Muller wants to use a right-handed shot on that pairing. Neither are ideal options but there is a chance that they can be serviceable if used in a short-term setting. Missing one defenseman shouldn't sink a team, but Faulk has been playing at a pretty high level this year, so his absence might be more damaging than some think.

Opponent scouting report and line combinations are after the jump.

For a good chunk of the season, the Charlotte Checkers had been sitting comfortably in first place in the AHL's Western Conference but their run at the top has come to an end as the top spot is now secured by the Texas Stars, who lead the Checkers by one point. This isn't due to a slump by the Checkers, though. They've won seven of their last 10 games and are still playing pretty well overall despite losing a few key pieces to the NHL. It's just that the Stars have been on a pretty incredible run lately and have been putting heat on Charlotte for a long time now. After the Checkers dropped two of their three games this past week, it allowed Texas to sneak up on them and take hold of the #1 spot in the West right at the All-Star Break.

The Checkers got some help this week with Marc-Andre Gragnani, Nicolas Blanchard and Jeremy Welsh returning to the lineup but unfortunately, their contributions weren't enough to keep them from losing two of three games. The funny thing is that Charlotte didn't play poorly in any of these games as they won the shot battle this week by a wide margin of 98-70, the goaltending was just very subpar. I usually don't like to put all of the blame on the netminders, but Justin Peters stopping only .865 of the shots he saw this week definitely played a huge factor, as did John Muse allowing 4 goals on 18 shots in the one game he started. Both had played terrifically the week before, so there isn't much of a need to panic. 

Charlotte didn't receive that much bad puck luck in regards to shooting percentage, as they converted on a little over 9% of their shots (about average), but I thought it was kind of interesting that they had eight different goal-scorers this past week and only one of them had more than one goal. The player in question here is Chris Terry, who is now one goal away from dethroning Zach Boychuk as the team's leading goal-scorere. A lot of weight is being put on his shoulders now with Boychuk, Dalpe and Bowman in Raleigh right now and he's doing a fine job carrying the load offensively. Terry also had 12 shots in Charlotte's three games played this past week, which is very encouraging to see because he was struggling to consistently get a lot of shots on goal for most of the year.

Luke Pither also had another big week as it looks like he honeymoon period with him and the Checkers will be lasting a little longer than some thought. Pither had himself a three-point game in Charlotte's 5-4 win over Abbotsford on Saturday afternoon and recorded a secondary assist on Andreas Nodl's goal in the loss to Norfolk on Wednesday night. I'm not sure how long Pither will continue to produce at this kind of level but he's been doing everything that's been asked of him and more thus far. It's given the Checkers offense a real nice boost.

Another "newer" player who really helped the Checkers this week was the aformentioned Andreas Nodl, who scored Charlotte's only goal against Norfolk on Wednesday and recorded an assist in the Abbotsford series. In addition to that, Nodl also recorded 11 shots on goal in three games. Nodl looked a bit out of place with the Checkers when he arrived the prior week but he seems to be fitting in more now, even though I'm sure he would rather be playing in the NHL.

Other big performers for Charlotte this week were Justin Shugg who had three assists, Riley Nash who had a pair of helpers and Michal Jordan who scored his fifth goal of the season and amassed nine shots on goal in three games. Brett Sutter and Marc-Andre Gragnani were both held off the scoresheet completely, which hasn't normally been the case for them this year.

The race for the top spot in the West is going to be pretty thrilling if both Charlotte and Texas can continue to play as well as they have lately. The Grand Rapids Griffins are also not far behind with 52 points in the standings, so most should be on the lookout for them, as well. The Checkers are slowly getting healthier and should see more of their better players return to the lineup as the season goes on. This will defintely lead to an interesting finish as we inch closer and closer to the playoffs.

Up next for Charlotte is a series with the Oklahoma City Barons, who are going to have a completely different roster compared to the last time the Checkers saw them. After that it's the San Antonio Rampage, who will also have a roster that will be missing a few players thanks to NHL call-ups. It should be a fun next few months.