Wow, what an intense game against the Rangers. We won 3-0, and what an achievement for Ward to shut out the team he has been struggling so muych with. I bet all of our players is gonna nurse their bruises now, cause this was damn physical.
I know completely understand all the hate towards that dickhead Avery. What a fucking dirty player, it would be awesome if Gleason got to knock him down after their episode in LA, yet for some reason Avery wasn't on the ice when Gleason was. Ever. It was also nice to see how their coach shone with anger every time Avery took a completely unecsesarry penalty. I wonder how long he'll stay.
Erik Cole is truly the difference maker for us. His work ethic is what we've been missing all season, and I seriously believe we can make the playoffs if we continue playing like we've been for the last couple of games. It's gonna be hard though, but I hope and believe that the guys got what it takes. It's clear that he never wanted to leave Raleigh as he's playing levels above what he did in Edmonton.
As for the Rangers, I really like what I see from Mark Staal. An intelligent D-man whom I would love to see in a Canes-jersey once. Speaking of their defense, they seemed pretty terrified of both Staal and Cole's speed as they tore them up during the last half of the period.
Easily the most esciting game of the year even though we shut them out and won pretty comfortably in the end.