CAR @ CGY 3-2 L At some point, this team is going to need a wake-up call. Whether that's through a players-only meeting, a healthy scratch or two or even a big trade, something is needed because right now, this team is on a one-way trip down the standings. After being embarrassed on national television less than 24 hours earlier, a 6-1 defeat at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers, the Carolina Hurricanes set themselves up for even more failure, blowing a two-goal third period lead to lose to the Calgary Flames 3-2 Thursday night. "We weren't very good," said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour. "We came out okay, which I expected after the other night, but then we just sat around. Sat back, sat back and didn't generate anything. Really, we were fortunate to be up 2-0. Took a little breather when we should have been slamming the door on the power play and then we give up a shorty. Tough game." For the first 10 minutes of the game, things weren't that bad. I wouldn't say that Carolina was great, but a 2-0 lead is nothing to complain about. Stefan Noesen got the team on the board 2:10 into the game, redirecting a Jaccob Slavin shot and then Michael Bunting doubled it up with another netfront deflection. But I don't know whether it was overconfidence, laziness or what, but after that two-goal lead, Carolina just stopped competing. They weren't stringing together passes, the offense was non-existent, they were just flat out bad with the puck and they seemed content to just let it ride out. That was fine through 40 minutes, but once the Flames finally woke up and decided to start pushing, the Canes were in trouble. Pyotr Kochetkov makes a save, the puck bounces off a Flame in front and spurts to Rasmus Andersson who breaks the ice. Nobody covering the defenseman skating in. Then just a complete blunder at the blueline allows Adam Ruzicka to skate in on a breakaway and while Kochetkov makes the initial stop, he can't hold onto the puck and it squirts out behind him enough for Connor Zary to skate in and push it across. "Where we're at right now, there should be a huge sense of urgency going into a period like that, especially when you have a two-goal lead to close it out," said Jordan Martinook. "For us to sit back and let them come and not have any pushback, it's... especially where we're at right now... I don't know. It's hard to fathom right now." So the game is tied within a couple of minutes and the Canes manage to get their first power play opportunity, a chance to get back on top. And wouldn't you know, they surrender a shorthanded goal. No urgency with the puck, some poor handling and then a shot that needs to be saved. A recipe for disaster. "I thought we just sat back and watched," Noesen said. "The start of the third was not how we want to do things. We had a sh---y game yesterday and with a 2-0 lead going into the third and then that's what happened. We can't give up a shorty there. That's just unacceptable all around." The Hurricanes actually started to play again after that, but it was too little too late. Carolina almost got an equalizer but Martin Necas sticking Dustin Wolf in the shoulder overturned what would have been a game-tying goal by Sebastian Aho. The Canes have now lost three in a row in a season that has been anything but smooth. Guys are apparently refusing to buy in, there's been no consistent threat on offense and the goaltending has been unable to steal a single game. "We've got a lot of guys that aren't pulling their weight," Brind'Amour said. "Plain and simple. Can read into that what you want, but we're not going to win if we don't have 20 guys going. We have some guys going every night, contributing and doing what they do, but there's a lot of others that need to look in the mirror. The one saving grace for the Hurricanes is that it's only December, but if something doesn't change soon, they'll only have a few more months of games left.
