Carolina Hurricanes

After one of the most tumultuous winters of Tuomo Ruutu's career, the 31-year-old Carolina Hurricanes winger is finally finding his game.

And it is just in time for a run with Team Finland during the ongoing men's hockey tournament at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Ruutu is one of 14 NHL players on the 25-man Finnish roster and has quickly emerged as a key producer and on-ice leader during the course of the Olympics to date.

A native of Vantaa, a populous suburb of the national capital of Helsinki, Ruutu has registered three assists, four points, six shots on goal and a plus-four rating through three appearances in Sochi.

He scored Finland's only goal on Sunday against Canada, deflecting Ossi Vaananen's shot past Canadian goaltender Carey Price to tie the game in the second period. Ruutu outmuscled Canadian defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic to gain position just outside the crease, then made a nifty tip that left a vision-blocked Price with no chance to make the save.

It was just the kind of play that has made Ruutu a regular in Raleigh over the past half-decade and just the kind of goal mysteriously lacking from him in 2013-14.

Canada won the game 2-1 in overtime, but Finland finished the group stage with seven points and earned the fourth and final first-round bye in the elimination portion of the tournament. They will face the winner of the game between No. 5 seed Russia and No. 12 seed Norway (a team the Finns downed 6-1 during the group stage) on Wednesday.

Ruutu spoke to Heikki Miettinen of the Helsinki Dispatch after the game. The translation is spotty at best, but Ruutu clearly references the "width of the Finnish ice hockey"—the squad is well-known for its ability to take advantage (per Dan Rosen of NHL.com) of the wider international ice.

It seems odd that a scrappy, physical player like Ruutu would excel on a larger surface which presumably spreads opponents farther apart. Yet, one way or another, No. 15 is finding a rhythm with his countrymen.

The Hurricanes surely hope that rhythm will continue when the NHL season resumes a week from Tuesday.

Ruutu's ice time dipped into single digits in six of nine games between Jan. 13 and 31, including a incredible five minutes, 45 seconds in the last game of that span versus St. Louis. Previously, his ice time hadn't been below 10 minutes in a non-injury-affected game since arriving in Carolina in Feb. 2008.

Coming off two hip surgeries in the 2013 calendar year, Ruutu's scoring touch had disappeared and his physicality in impact and hit totals were way down for the season as a whole.

Yet No. 15's usage spiked greatly in his final three games before the break, rising to near 12 minutes and then to more than 13 twice. He tallied two assists and a plus-two rating in the three-game span and a plus-19 shot attempt (Corsi) differential (per Extra Skater) in the final two as his line with Riley Nash and Drayson Bowman caught fire.

That positive momentum clearly carried over nine timezones away in Sochi.

It will be put to the test even more in the coming week as Finland's hopes of repeating their medal performance from 2010 are truly put on the line in the elimination rounds. Alongside national stars such as Teemu Selanne, Lauri Korpikoski and Jussi and Olli Jokinen, however, Ruutu will receive ample opportunity to maintain his growing chemistry and production.

As the conclusion of the tournament and the resumption of the NHL playoff stretch run approaches, Ruutu's continued growth should be a tremendous source of optimism from the perspectives of both Team Finland and the Carolina Hurricanes.

Mark Jones has been a Carolina Hurricanes featured columnist for Bleacher Report since 2009. Visit his profile to read more, or follow him on Twitter.

The Carolina Hurricanes need a physical, experienced two-way center to fill their biggest existing hole prior to the team's final playoff push.

Whether such a player will be acquired prior to the Friday 3 p.m. Olympic trade freeze, in the mad rush just before the March 5th 3 p.m. trade deadline or not at all is still unknown.

What is known, however, is that the 'Canes desperately such a scrappy veteran to keep up in the highly competitive Metropolitan Division bubble race—and, fortunately, a number of well-suited targets are reportedly available around the NHL.

I have suggested possible fits such as Mikael Backlund, Steve Ott, Marcel Goc and others in the past.

Now, one of the market's hottest rumor epicenters—33-year-old Nashville Predators center David Legwand—has supplanted all.

Legwand is, in simple terms, the perfect player for the Hurricanes.

TSN insider Bob McKenzie first reported on Legwand's potential availability on Monday:

The Predators are shopping Legwand hard. The price is expected to be a first- or second-round pick but keep in mind he has a full no-move clause and he will decide whether or not he wants to be a rental or whether he wants to play out the string with Nashville.

The second overall pick in the 1998 NHL Draft, Legwand has been in Nashville his entire professional career and has achieved remarkable consistency there.

He tallied 13 goals and 28 in his 1999-2000 rookie campaign, setting a precedent for the decade-and-a-half of steady production to come. Legwand has hit the double-digit goal milestone in 13 of his 14 NHL seasons and the 20-goal marker twice. 

The 6'2", 205-pound Michigan native has also brought an impressive array of intangibles to the ice in the Music City.

Legwand has sported a positive zone start differential every season since 2009-10 (per BehindtheNet.ca).

He's also ranked among the top three on the team in takeaways every year since 2010-11 and won over 50 percent of his faceoffs in both 2012-13 and 2013-14. He additionally ranks second among all Preds forwards with 2:49 average power-play ice time per game. The last of those many specialties would be particularly nice to add to a Hurricanes' man-advantage unit with just three goals on its last 31 attempts. 

Legwand's stats over the five most recent seasons lie below:

Not only only would the longtime Predator help supplement the 'Canes potency in several weak areas, he could contribute in leadership as well.

The center boasts 951 games of NHL regular-season experience and another 47 of playoff experience from seven different postseason berths with Nashville. A veteran with such familiarity with playoff-bubble fights and, even better, succeeding in them, would be very valuable on this year's raw 'Canes squad.

The price to add Legwand (or a comparable player) would undoubtedly be expensive.

McKenzie mentions a high draft pick as one possible return; a "future" replacement center like Victor Rask or Brody Sutter might also entice Nashville general manager David Poile. The Preds' star-lacking goalie pool has also struggled to handle Pekka Rinne's injury problems this year and could be interested in Justin Peters.

Nonetheless, Legwand and the 'Canes appear to be an excellent fit. As the front office scours the market in the coming month, it seems likely that they'll keep at least a few eyes on Legwand throughout the process.

Mark Jones has been a Carolina Hurricanes featured columnist for Bleacher Report since 2009. Visit his profile to read more, or follow him on Twitter.

As the Olympic Break approaches, the Carolina Hurricanes face a pivotal moment in their 2013-14 NHL playoff hopes.

Friday and Saturday back-to-back matches at PNC Arena will decide the team's position on the postseason bubble entering the two-week vacation.

With an offense sporting just three goals (excluding an empty-netter) in the last three games, the 'Canes will certainly need to find the back of the net more often to take down the Panthers and Canadiens and earn four valuable points prior to the Sochi Olympic Games.

Yet the Hurricanes have still won 10 of their last 15 games. The team has, without question, played winning hockey in the last five weeks. A little more finishing ability on the offensive side of the puck could well boost them above the bubble come March and April.

If their pure win-loss record isn't impressive enough, however, Carolina's absolutely unstoppable dominance of offensive pressure on a game-to-game basis certainly is.

The 'Canes have controlled the shots on goal, scoring chances and highly indicative shot attempts (Corsi) statistical categories with regularity ever since early December.

Over their past 27 games—starting with the 5-2 win in Nashville on Dec. 5—the 'Canes have registered more shot attempts than their opposition 21 times. They've averaged 66.04 attempts per game and held the other team to an average of just 54.19 attempts per game.

A visual interpretation of the Hurricanes' shot attempt differential can be seen below:

With such command over the distribution of offensive chances, the 'Canes are able to wear down opposing defensemen and goaltenders—as evidenced by their frequent third-period comebacks of late.

Moreover, Carolina has risen to 13th in the NHL in average shot attempts differential and eighth in attempts for; their 66.04 average over the last 27 games trails San Jose's league-leading, season-long 66.16 average by only a sliver.

With two enormously important games up next on the schedule, the 'Canes have little reason to lose confidence in their offense after a mere three-game downturn.

Mark Jones has been a Carolina Hurricanes featured columnist for Bleacher Report since 2009. Visit his profile to read more, or follow him on Twitter.

After weeks of fast finishes covering for slow starts, the Carolina Hurricanes' poor first-period play finally caught up to them in a 3-0 loss to Montreal on Tuesday.

The 'Canes have fallen behind 2-0 in five of their last nine games and have conceded at least the first goal in six of nine.

They've managed to rally for a 5-4-0 record in that stretch and a 10-4-0 record since New Year's Eve, holding on to the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. However, the team won't be able to overcome deficits so regularly as pressure grows in the coming months.

Carolina's slow starts in January are more concerning when considering that the trend is hardly a new one.

Over the first 53 games of the 2013-14 season, the 'Canes have trailed by two or more goals at one point in 24 of them. On seven occasions in the first 30 games alone, the 'Canes rallied from 2-0 down to tie, but eventually walked away with the win only twice.

Only lowly Buffalo has scored fewer first-period goals than Carolina's 25. Only three teams—Buffalo, Calgary and Florida—have a worse first-period goal differential than Carolina's minus-18.

It seemed that the problem had perhaps been solved...until the latest back-to-back on Monday and Tuesday. Eric Staal and Co. were able to fight past Columbus' 2-0 advantage Monday in Raleigh, but the lack of home crowd support and the early 3-0 deficit were too much to overcome Tuesday in Montreal.

The Hurricanes can't expect to be able to launch so many successful rallies over the season's final third, as opponents will field a healthier roster after the two-week Olympic break and tighten up in the face of growing playoff bubble intensity.

In fact, 12 of the NHL's 16 playoff teams from last spring finished the regular season with a first-period goal differential ranking in the upper half of the league. Four of the last six Stanley Cup champions were among the top five in the league in first-period scoring during the regular season.

The opening 20 minutes are a critical part of hockey game—20 minutes that, too often, the Hurricanes waste away fruitlessly. Only once in 53 games (Jan. 9 vs. Toronto) have the 'Canes scored multiple goals in those 20 minutes. Early fireworks have been all but nonexistent at PNC Arena this season.

To put it simply, the Hurricanes' postseason hopes cannot live on if the team continues its lackluster starts.

First-period improvement must be made a priority for the entire remainder of the 2013-14 campaign.

Mark Jones has been a Carolina Hurricanes featured columnist for Bleacher Report since 2009. Visit his profile to read more or follow him on Twitter.

The Carolina Hurricanes allowed one of the ugliest goals ever seen and nearly blew a four-goal lead, but regrouped to defeat the Ottawa Senators 6-3 on Saturday afternoon at PNC Arena.

The sloppy, streaky matinee victory highlighted an unheralded ingredient in the Hurricanes' ongoing improvement—the ability to bounce back after a costly mistake.

The 'Canes, since rallying from 3-0 down to defeat Montreal on New Year's Eve, have won nine of their last 12 games to push back into the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race.

They've walked away with two points in four of five road games, including critical victories in Washington, Long Island and Philadelphia. They've hit the five-goal milestone in three of the last seven home games. They've ridden Anton Khudobin to a 10-3 record and .927 save percentage in his first 13 appearances in the red and white.

Yet the 9-3-0 run has been anything but flawless.

Intertwined in Carolina's successful last four weeks are two postponed road games and a 144:46 scoreless streak, GM Jim Rutherford's scathing review of Alexander Semin and Tuomo Ruutu's period-long benching.

In fact, back-to-back shutouts at the hands of the Blue Jackets and Flames had seemed to derail all of the team's momentum two weekends ago, prompting a hefty round of trade rumors, via TSN.ca.

However, the oft-criticized Semin led to the 'Canes to an important win over Florida to restabilize the ship, then stretched his sudden hot streak to six goals in four games to jump-start another winning streak.

When one of the NHL's elite wins nine of 12, they often do so in consistently dominant fashion. When the Carolina Hurricanes do it, it's an exponentially rougher ride.

But, so far, they're making it work.

Allowing three goals in a 3:05 span in an easily excited Verizon Center atmosphere? Not an issue. The 'Canes hold the Capitals scoreless for the final 37:26 of the game and win in overtime.

Conceding a third-period tying goal to the woeful Predators offense? Withstandable. Jeff Skinner trickles one through the five hole with 3:31 left to lift Carolina.

Letting in four goals in the game's first 20:24 to the visiting Lightning? A minor concern. The 'Canes fire 51 shots on goal and get three goals in the inevitable losing effort to regain offensive confidence, then start another winning streak.

Changing the routine to accommodate a controversially postponed game? Hardly a worry. The 'Canes silence a dug-out Philadelphia with Jiri Tlusty's game-winner with 6:10 to play.

Facing three different one-goal deficits at the hands of the NHL's worst team? No problem. The 'Canes rally back via two very Buffalo Sabres-esque, how-did-that-work goals and win 5-3. 

Watching a 4-0 rout fade into a 5-3 second-intermission edge after allowing a short-handed goal and this debacle? Only inspiration for a better defensive effort in the third. The 'Canes hold the Senators to seven shots and no goals in the final frame and win 6-3.

Carolina has grown tremendously from its "fragile" days of last spring, fighting through a plethora of adversity to reclaim its position on the postseason bubble. Much of that resiliency can be accredited to the Hurricanes' underrated leadership core, headlined by not only Eric and Jordan Staal and Justin Faulk, but also new 2013-14 additions like Khudobin, Manny Malhotra, Andrej Sekera, Ron Hainsey and Radek Dvorak.

With 18 out of 24 possible points in their last 12 contests, the Hurricanes have improved to 23-19-9. Their 55 points in 51 games—an average of 1.08 points per game—ranks exactly eighth in the East entering Sunday. They trail fourth-place Montreal by just 0.06 points per game.

In other words, the 'Canes are in a playoff spot. At the moment.

It must be considered that this team was in an even better position—third in the conference—with just 23 games remaining in 2012-13's lockout-shortened campaign, yet collapsed down the stretch and finished 13th.

It also must be considered that the 'Canes lead current 13th-place Washington by just 0.04 points per game, and the Eastern postseason race could hardly be volatile than it is today. With three higher-ranking teams (Columbus, Montreal and St. Louis) next up on the schedule, their current momentum could be derailed very quickly.

Nonetheless, the adversity of a challenging week ahead seems just another obstacle in a 2013-14 season laden with tribulations. 

Tribulations which, so far, the Hurricanes have overcome.

Mark Jones has been a Carolina Hurricanes featured columnist for Bleacher Report since 2009. Visit his profile to read more, or follow him on Twitter.

Millions of followers of both the Carolina Hurricanes and Team Russia cheered Tuesday as Alexander Semin received a last-second ticket to the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Semin, reserved as always, probably did not cheer.

But he surely sighed with relief.

Per NHL.com's Road to Sochi blog:

Carolina Hurricanes forward Alexander Semin was added to Russia's team for the 2014 Sochi Olympics on Tuesday.

According to Russian sports website Rsport.ru, Semin will replace forward Sergei Soin, who plays for Dynamo Moscow in the Kontinental Hockey League but sustained a knee injury last week.

January has been quite a roller-coaster month for the 29-year-old 'Canes winger.

The original Russian Olympic roster was announced on Jan. 7. Semin's snub immediately sent the hockey universe into uproar.

Wrote Yahoo!'s Dmitry Chesnokov at the time:

The biggest surprise is the exclusion of Alexander Semin. It is quite difficult to understand exactly what led to him not making the team. He is picking up his game lately, but, quite interestingly, [Russian head coach Zinetula] Bilyaletdinov didn’t even speak with Semin when visiting one of the recent Hurricanes’ games.

Is there something personal there?

Semin had tallied two assists in four appearances with Team Russia as part of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. However, the criticism-maligned Krasnoyarsk native figured to be watching his country compete in February from his television.

Pittsburgh Penguins and Team Russia star Evgeni Malkin shared Semin's anger in an interview with R-Sport last Friday. Translated, Malkin said, "Everyone was surprised by Semin's absence... Believe me, every player left off the roster—[including] both Semin and (Sergei) Gonchar—was really upset."

Yet Semin's January was only going to get worse. After tallying points in six of seven games leading up to Jan. 7, No. 28 was held off the box score for three consecutive NHL contests following his Olympic exclusion.

Then his career arguably hit its lowest point in a decade after a scathing review from Carolina GM Jim Rutherford on Saturday. Said Rutherford to WTVD (ABC) reporter Mark Armstrong:

He came off a great year, and we are all very disappointed with his production at this time.

He's a guy who is paid to score goals and put up points, and he hasn't done that. He's trying to play an east-west game when the rest of the team is playing a north-south game, and he needs to get his act going pretty soon.

The very general manager who had signed Semin to a five-year, $35 million extension less than a calendar year before was now lambasting him quite the same as his former employers and teammates in Washington had.

A simple glance at the stat sheet seemed to back up Rutherford's claims, as Semin had tallied just six goals, 12 assists and a minus-one rating in 34 games to date.

Yet advanced numbers told a far different tale.

The 29-year-old led the Hurricanes by an incredibly wide margin with a 15.94 shot attempt differential (aka Corsi). He had suffered through a remarkably unlucky 7.6 shooting percentage since joining the 'Canes—a vast difference from his 14.1 shooting percentage with the Capitals—but his chance-creating productivity was going underappreciated.

Then, suddenly, Semin's month turned around.

No. 28 proved impossible to contain during Carolina's weekend back-to-back, registering 13 shots and three goals in a 25-hour span. Rutherford's words seemed to echo in his mind as he rifled shot after shot at opposing goaltenders Tim Thomas and Ben Bishop.

Meanwhile, a top-of-the-standings KHL game quickly became relevant for Semin as well. SKA St. Petersburg defeated Dynamo Moscow 6-3 last Wednesday, Jan. 15, with Dynamo forward Sergei Soin going down with an injury.

It was announced Monday that Soin's knee concern would hold him out of the Olympics next month, opening up a new roster spot on Team Russia.

As the sun rose in Raleigh on Tuesday, Semin was announced as Soin's replacement.

Said a suddenly hospitable Bilyaletdinov to Russian media:

With...Semin, we had a preliminary agreement that he could be called into the team. We’ve already been in contact with him, negotiated, and Alexander will represent the Russian national team at the Olympic Games.

Semin spoke to Fox Sports Carolinas commentator Tripp Tracy in a rare English interview Tuesday; the Hurricanes' official team Twitter account passed along quotes:

Alexander Semin would not be Alexander Semin without drama, and his first three weeks of 2014 have certainly not fallen short in that regard.

The fate of the Hurricanes' Semin-led 2013-14 campaign, moreover, remains wholly up in the air.

Yet there can be no doubt that, in the end, Semin appears headed where he deserved all along—to his home country for the greatest hockey competition in the world.

Mark Jones has been a Carolina Hurricanes featured columnist for Bleacher Report since 2009. Visit his profile to read more, or follow him on Twitter.

As the Carolina Hurricanes awaited a crucial Metropolitan Division showdown Tuesday night in Philadelphia, snow flakes began to blanket the Mid-Atlantic.

The National Weather Service forecast: 4-6 inches in Washington D.C., Philadelphia and New York.

In Newark, the Blues-Devils game remained scheduled as planned. In Manhattan, the Islanders-Rangers game remained scheduled as planned. In Washington, the Senators-Capitals game remained scheduled as planned.

But, in Philadelphia, the host Flyers seemingly wanted to push a different storyline. With their seventh match in 10 days—and a highly important match with possibly poor fan support, at that—potentially just hours away, the organization went on the offensive.

The Flyers wanted a postponement.

The Hurricanes did not.

The NHL granted Philadelphia's wish.

Per the NHL.com news release:

Tonight's game between the Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes at Wells Fargo Center, NHL Game No. 749, has been postponed due to the snow emergency declared in the city of Philadelphia.

The game will be rescheduled to Wednesday night at 6 p.m., with the Senators-Hurricanes game (originally scheduled for Jan. 24) delayed to Saturday at noon, according to News & Observer reporter Chip Alexander via Twitter:

It's the second time in a two-week span that the Hurricanes, having played just five games in the last 16 days, have traveled to a city only to have their game postponed.

The 'Canes were stuck for days in Buffalo after a blizzard cancelled the Jan. 7 Hurricanes-Sabres contest. The eventual Feb. 25 make-up date cut two days into their Olympic break.

No other NHL games this season have been postponed.

The perceived inconsistency in the NHL's rescheduling system—or perhaps lack of system—has raised plenty of hairs in Raleigh.

After all, a winter storm led to the declaration of a state of emergency in North Carolina on Jan. 30, 2010, just as now declared in Philadelphia. However, that night's Hurricanes-Blackhawks game was played as scheduled, despite an announced crowd of just 6,896.

I vividly recall my 12-mile, 90-minute voyage to the arena that evening. Eight inches of snow on top of a thick layer of ice was enough to make driving conditions highly undesirable, if not absurd. 

The 'Canes offered fans the option to exchange tickets for any future 2009-2010 game and suspended parking fees, costing the organization a great deal of money that wintry day.

Yet the NHL was not persuaded to make a schedule modification, and one was forced to wonder exactly what went into the league's decision-making process.

Now, almost four years later, the basic principles behind such a process are still undisclosed by the league.

How much of the decision is based on measured and/or projected snowfall? How much are road conditions considered? Does a state of emergency make a difference? Does the presence of both teams in the host city matter?

And, finally, the question a plethora of those involved in the Hurricanes franchise will be most dying to ask: How much do team politics weigh on the minds of those in charge?

A growing controversy surrounding Tuesday's 'Canes-Flyers postponement may prompt more visibility into the league's decision-making process. Considering the typical ambiguity of the NHL, though, it probably will not—and that will raise concerns.

Simply put, the National Hockey League, with the best interests of all its fans and teams in mind, must implement a standard system for weather-related schedule changes.

A precise level of weather severity must be set as the threshold for postponement.

Moreover, a fair and standard process must be set to determine the make-up date.

The NHL plays in a season laden with wintry weather and dangerous conditions; fan and player safety must be a strong priority, and rescheduling is occasionally the only reasonable option to preserve that.

But consistency in rescheduling is also a reasonable expectation, and the NHL may currently be falling short in that regard.

Mark Jones has been a Carolina Hurricanes featured columnist for Bleacher Report since 2009. Visit his profile to read more, or follow him on Twitter.