The Carolina Hurricanes have been losing but with great effort. That wasn’t the case Saturday night as the Canes fell 5-3 in a largely lackluster effort against the Philadelphia Flyers.<\/p>\n
“Tonight was the first game in a long time that we\u2019ve been disappointed with the effort and commitment with our guys,\u201d Coach Kirk Muller said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been praising them for awhile, and they\u2019ve been going hard, playing hard and not getting the results, but tonight was probably the first time we\u2019ve been disappointed with some of the guys not competing at the level we want to.\u201d<\/p>\n
More Muller on the Canes\u2019 compete level: \u201cThey outworked us tonight,\u201d he said. \u201cAt the end of the day, you\u2019ve got to come ready to play. You can\u2019t take a night off in the NHL.\u201d<\/p>\n
The story recently has been that bounces simply haven\u2019t gone in the Hurricanes\u2019 favor. Rinse and repeat tonight, as Matt Read put the Flyers up 5-3 on a breakaway just seconds after Tuomo Ruutu nearly tied the game at four. \u201cThe hockey gods don\u2019t like us a whole lot right now. You\u2019ve got to work through that,\u201d said Kevin Westgarth, who recorded his first point as a Hurricane with an assist on Justin Faulk\u2019s second period goal. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to make sure we\u2019re better come next game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Playing in his 100th NHL game, Faulk scored his fifth goal of the season, a seeing-eye slap shot from the point. The sequence was initiated with a grinding shift from the fourth line of Westgarth, Tim Wallace and Nic Blanchard. Westgarth made a leaping play at the blue line to keep the puck, headed toward the net and \u2013 along with Blanchard \u2013 screened Steve Mason as Faulk ripped a shot. The goal extends Faulk\u2019s point streak to a career-high four games. \u201cHe\u2019s doing a lot of good things out there. That\u2019s important for us to see, that he\u2019s finishing up the season on a good, strong note,\u201d Muller said of Faulk. \u201cWe need him to play at that level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Returning to the lineup after missing a game with an upper-body injury, Jeff Skinner potted the Canes\u2019 first goal, his 13th of the season. The puck popped out into the slot, and Skinner hacked at the puck and beat a surprised Mason. Skinner has recorded goals in three of his last four games (and he only played a few minutes in that game he didn\u2019t score in). \u201cI just sort of closed my eyes and swung at it,\u201d Skinner said with a smile.<\/p>\n
The Hurricanes will travel to Tampa Bay for the last Southeast Division match-up with the Lightning Sunday evening. With the 6 p.m. start in a back-to-back situation, Muller said it\u2019s likely that Dan Ellis will get the start in net. The Hurricanes will be dressed in their third jerseys for the seventh and final time this season tomorrow night in Tampa Bay.<\/p>\n
– Includes news release information<\/p>\n