Edmonton, Alberta – When the Pittsburgh Penguins selected Marc-Andre Fleury first overall in the 2002 draft, the Carolina Hurricanes supposedly were getting the second-best player available in Eric Staal.
Carolina general manager Jim Rutherford still has his job, while Craig Patrick is now a former GM. Staal probably has a little something to do with that.
Staal, the tall, rangy second- year center with the Hurricanes, came into Monday’s Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals allegedly in a slump, with only three points (but no goals) in his previous six games.
After fielding questions Sunday about his recent problems, Staal had two assists in Game 4, in Carolina’s 2-1 victory over Edmonton.
“The bottom line is, I want to help our team win in whatever (way) I can,” said Staal, whose brother, Jordan, is expected to go in the top five of this year’s draft. “It felt nice tonight to contribute on those two goals. Now we’re focused on the next game, to try to get it done at home.”
Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette double-shifted Staal some early in the game.
“He had 100 points in the regular season, he’s our leading playoff scorer, so if he doesn’t put up any points for a couple of games, it automatically goes into a slump,” Laviolette said. “I don’t think that was the case. I think he was still playing good hockey.”
Hemsky defended
Craig MacTavish was annoyed at a reporter’s question wondering whether the Oilers coach was frustrated over the lack of shooting by young forward Ales Hemsky, who only had one in more than 18 minutes despite a few opportunities.
“You know what I get frustrated with? I get frustrated with the question,” MacTavish said. “The guy has led the team in scoring. He’s a playmaker. He wins a lot of games for us, and every Tom, Dick and Harry is telling him how to play the game.”
Footnote
Carolina winger Cory Stillman is trying to become the first player on back-to-back Stanley Cup winners with different teams since Claude Lemieux did it with the New Jersey Devils in 1995 and the Avalanche in 1996. Stillman played for Tampa Bay two years ago, before the season lost to a lockout. The Lightning defeated the Calgary Flames in seven games.
