Chris Vitiello

ACC CENTER, TORONTO — A team is supposed to beat the teams beneath them in the standings, and the Hurricanes did. But they almost beat themselves, too. File photo by Rob RoweCam Ward stopped 34 shots in a 4-3 win in Toronto Tuesday night. Patrick Dwyer’s go-ahead goal with five minutes left held up through […]

RBC CENTER, Raleigh — Tim Gleason must have been on Santa’s naughty list. Undeservedly assessed a game misconduct after his clean check bloodied Mathieu Perreault, Gleason watched the rest of the Hurricanes’ 3-2 loss to the Washington Capitals from a similar vantage to that of the 10,477 fans who braved a seven-inch snowfall to attend […]

RBC Center/ Raleigh—And the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor goes to… Jaroslav Spacek for his part in the Montreal Canadiens’ 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night. Spacek’s brilliant performance as an almost-fatally wounded defenseman—lying face-down on the ice, his head buried in his hands, perhaps even crying “Why? Why?” a la Nancy […]

Photo by Rob RoweEric Staal scores his second goal of the night against the Ducks. RBC Center/ Raleigh—The Hurricanes broke out their holiday recipe book last night. Combine equal amounts skill, speed, and snarl. Add a few spectacular saves. Bake until you win. Eric Staal tallied his 12th career hat trick, Cam Ward turned away […]

Not all losses are the same, figuratively and literally. File photo by Rob RoweCam Ward was strong in regulation and overtime, but gave up the shootout winner in a 2-1 loss in Dallas. When the Dallas Stars visited the RBC Center in late November, they handled the Carolina Hurricanes with ease in a 4-1 win. […]

File photo by Jeremy M. LangeJeff Skinner, face of the Hurricanes’ future? So, with nearly a third of the season gone, who are these Carolina Hurricanes, who thrilled the RBC Center crowd last night, taking a playoff-style contest 2-1 in overtime from the Colorado Avalanche? After tonight’s game in Nashville, the Canes get a six-day […]

RBC CENTER/ RALEIGH—We expected a learning curve this season for the young Carolina Hurricanes, but what we’re getting is a learning zig-zag. For every 7-goal outburst, there has been the outing in which the Canes simply haven’t looked competitive. Tonight’s 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars was, unfortunately, the latter. James Neal scored twice and […]

RBC CENTER/ RALEIGH—I recall one of many awkward Thanksgivings years ago, crowded into a living room with heavy-breathing relatives, a plate of tepid green bean casserole balanced on my knees, mentally noting that the Lions game wasn’t for another hour. Instead we were all going to talk. WikiCommonsLee Van Cleef didn’t beat the Carolina Hurricanes […]

RBC CENTER/ RALEIGH—Patrick O’Sullivan will have that Thanksgiving turkey to go. Continuing his roster tweaking at the quarter-turn of the season, Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford waived O’Sullivan, the first North Carolina native to play in the NHL, on Tuesday. The Minnesota Wild claimed the winger, who scored only one goal in 10 games with […]

Sandpaper and glue. When general managers speak of their hockey rosters, you’d think they shopped for players at a hardware store. NHL Media Carolina Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford executed one of his patented early-season trades today, changing brands of sandpaper in a swap with the Calgary Flames. Defenseman Anton Babchuk and gritty forward Tom […]