Cullen Nets Hat trick as’ Canes Blast AVS

The Carolina Hurricanes may be peaking at the right time.  Matt Cullen’s hat trick helped lift the ‘canes to their third consecutive victory as they defeated the Colorado Avalanche 5-2 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, NC on Sunday.   Carolina is caught in the logjam for the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference, where a mere 7 points separate the 4^th place Philadelphia Flyers from the 10^th place Pittsburgh Penguins.  Carolina is in 9^th place after the victory with 67 points.

The Avs opened the scoring early, with Wojtek Wolski scoring his 14^th goal of the season unassisted less than a minute from the start of the game.  The ‘canes would answer with Cullen’s first goal of the evening, assisted by Chad LaRose and Joni Pitkanen at the 7:00 minute mark of the first period.  The teams would head to the locker room after the first twenty minutes deadlocked at 1-1.

Cullen’s second goal of the night would give his team a 2-1 lead early in the 2^nd period with assists from LaRose and Ray Whitney.  The Avs’ Darcy Tucker would even things up less than a minute later on a setup from Chris Stewart and Brett Clark.  Joni Pitkanen would score what would prove to be the game winner late in the second session assisted by Tuomo Ruutu, Dennis Seidenberg giving Carolina a 3-2 advantage heading into the second intermission.

It was all Carolina in the third, beginning with Ryan Bayda’s fifth goal of the year at the 8:49 mark from Jussi Jokinen and Anton Babchuk.  Cullen would complete his hat trick in the final minute of play, shooting the puck into an empty net after Colorado had pulled their goalie for an extra attacker. 

With the playoff race wide open, the next few games are crucial for Carolina.  They’ll play the Ottawa Senators on the road this Tuesday before returning home for an important contest against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.  The Sabres currently hold the 8^th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, leading Carolina by a single point.  They’ll have another good opportunity to earn points on Saturday night when they travel south to play the lowly Atlanta Thrashers.

Colorado is in last place in the NHL’s Western Conference, but things there are even tighter than in the East.  Less than 10 points separate the last place Avs from 6^th place Columbus and they’re only 7 points out of the eighth and final playoff spot.  They’ll have to win on the road if they want to make a run, however, as they play Tuesday in Atlanta, Thursday at the Meadowlands against the New Jersey Devils and Saturday at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers.