RALEIGH, N.C. — Ray Whitney’s father, Floyd, was the Edmonton Oilers’ practice goalie, and that connection led to Ray serving as the team’s stickboy in 1987-88. Young Ray watched future Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri and Glenn Anderson up close, and probably couldn’t help but soak up a few lessons.
Whitney, now a 37-year- old winger in his fifth season with Carolina, scored two showy goals Friday, leading the Hurricanes to a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche at the RBC Center.
Playing without star center Eric Staal, on personal leave following the death of his sister-in-law, and with several other regulars out of the lineup, the Eastern Conference’s cellar-dwellers got 29 saves from goalie Cam Ward in dealing the Avs their second consecutive loss. The Avalanche went 0-6 on the power play and finally averted the shutout with 15.5 seconds remaining, when Brandon Yip got his fourth goal in his nine-game stint since being recalled from Lake Erie.
Colorado’s slumping top line combined for eight shots — with Chris Stewart getting four, Paul Stastny three and Wojtek Wolski one — but couldn’t get anything past Ward, not even on Colorado’s five first-period power plays.
“Sometimes we’re getting outworked and sometimes we need to simplify it,” Stastny said of the power play. “We’re trying to force plays, and the best chances we get is just the shot from the point. We had a couple of chances we should have scored on, like right at the end with ‘Stewie,’ but the reason we lost was special teams. They had one power play goal and we had none.”
Stewart had a prime chance on the one third-period power play, but instead of shooting, he tried to pass to Wolski, and it didn’t get through.
“The D-man was there and I saw Wolski back door,” Stewart said. “It would have been a timely goal, but you never know what’s going to happen if you shoot the puck. … When things are going bad, you need to go back to basics, shoot the puck and get a couple of ugly ones.”
The Avalanche lost veteran defenseman Adam Foote to an ankle injury late in the second period, after he went down in a tangle behind the Colorado goal line.
“I’m hoping it’s not too serious, but I haven’t heard yet,” Avs coach Joe Sacco said.
From the active roster, the Avalanche already was minus defenseman John-Michael Liles, out after suffering flu-like symptoms Thursday. Derek Peltier was recalled from Lake Erie and played against the Hurricanes, so if Liles is able to play tonight at Buffalo, the Avalanche wouldn’t necessarily need to bring up another defenseman.
With backup Peter Budaj getting his eighth start of the season, Whitney’s goals came when he stickhandled past Colorado defenseman Ryan Wilson, went forehand to backhand and beat Budaj on a power play at 5:30 of the first period. He later scored from a tough right-wing angle at 37 seconds of the second period, first winding up for a slap shot and then getting off a wrist shot that fooled Budaj.
“Especially the second was a bad goal,” said Budaj, who had 18 saves and faced only four shots in the third period. “He made it look like it was going to be slapper and then he kept going and tricked me.”
Terry Frei: 303-954-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com
Avs Recap
The Post’s three stars
1. Ray Whitney.
Two goals for the veteran Hurricanes winger.
2. Cam Ward.
Carolina goalie got the victory with 29 saves.
3. Matt Cullen.
Whitney’s linemate assisted on both of his goals.
What you might have missed
Former Avalanche center Stephane Yelle was a crucial part of the Hurricanes’ strong penalty killing. He was on the ice for 4:12 of Carolina’s 11:05 short-handed time.
Up next
At Buffalo, tonight, 5 p.m.
Terry Frei
Colorado at Buffalo
5 p.m. tonight, ALT, KCKK 1510 AM
Spotlight on Ryan Miller: Because the Sabres played Friday at home against Toronto, Miller is scheduled to get the night off tonight. If that plan holds, veteran backup Patrick Lalime will be going after career victory No. 200. Miller has been spectacular for the Sabres this season and will likely be the USA’s No. 1 goalie at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver next month.
