Toronto Maple Leafs at Carolina Hurricanes: Desperation Time for Both – NHL Updates
With only 12 games remaining, the pressure is on for both, Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs when they faceoff at the RBC Centre in Raleigh, North Carolina, for the fourth and last time in the 2010-2011 season on Wednesday.
Finally snapping a four-game losing streak, Carolina, that is 4-4-2 in its last 10 games, needs to win the upcoming games if it wants to head into the playoffs. Hurricanes defeated eighth placed Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday and has another chance the next day
to gain those precious two points to tie it.
With the number of games remaining, one wouldn’t think that Toronto would face much difficulty in securing a playoff spot, but losing its past four out of six games and 4-3-3 in its last 10 games, it is making things hard for itself.
24 points are available in the games left and winning even half of them would take Maple Leafs to the next level.
Toronto suffered a huge loss on Monday while playing against Tampa Bay Lightning when right wing, Colby Armstrong, broke his foot while blocking a shot. Toronto eventually lost that match by a staggering 6-2, recalling Nazem Kadri from its AHL franchise
to replace Armstrong.
Maple Leafs’ goalie, James Reimer, playing his first season in the NHL, has really been a building block for the team.
He definitely wants to contribute but is lacking the proper experience rather than skills. When Toronto lost to Tampa Bay, Reimer’s teammates pointed out that fatigue was the reason Reimer couldn’t perform, making his 12th consecutive start.
Reimer thought otherwise, still taking the blame he said, "I could probably use (being tired) as an excuse.’' "Even if that was the case, I'm a professional athlete and you have to find ways to stay focused and keep your head in the game and keep your body
at a competitive level'.'
One thing Hurricanes can brag about is their goalie, Cam Ward, who showed how outstanding of a goalkeeper he really is by making 40 saves in the match against Sabres and shutting the opposition out can be used as a secret weapon against the rookie Toronto
team.
"We feel we have arguably the best goaltender in the world", Hurricanes’ coach, Paul Maurice, said while praising Cam Ward after the match in Buffalo. "For a one-goal hockey game, there was lots going on".
Even though Carolina is missing its defenseman, Jamie McBain, Ward is enough of a force himself to take control on the defensive end.
After this season’s NHL trade deadline, Hurricanes proved that it is not looking for any quick fixes, giving away some major veteran players for picks in the future entry drafts, it really wants to rebuild a team from the ground up.
Getting into the playoffs shouldn’t be one of Carolina’s priorities right now, making it is one thing, but getting ahead is a task that looks too difficult for them at the moment.
Following its match with the Maple Leafs, Carolina still has a tough road ahead of the playoffs, with teams like Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, and Tampa Bay Lightning, who they have to face twice.
Waiting for some action in the upcoming days, staying focused and not rushing it will be helpful for them in achieving playoff glory, which they have yearned for so long.
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