Well, needless to say, it was a fun weekend in Canes land. It’s only two games, but we’d sure rather be 2-0 after two than otherwise. And there is no doubt that the way we won both games will go a long way in helping this team gel and build confidence. You don’t want to have to come from behind every game, but it’s nice to know you are capable of doing so if need be. That was a heck of a happy locker room in Tampa Saturday night, in a building where wins have been few and far between for the Hurricanes, especially in back-to-back-with-travel situations (which all three of our games in Tampa are this season).

Mike Sundheim

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One thing that has been different so far this year is that we have not had a morning skate, an experiment that will continue at least through this weekend’s visit to Southern California, and probably beyond. It is an effort to limit the wear-and-tear that the guys endure over the course of the season by keeping them off the ice in the morning.

“We will evaluate as we go over the course of the season,” Coach Laviolette said Saturday morning in Tampa. “But you keep the guys out of their equipment an additional 80 times, and I think that’s a good thing.”

Makes sense to me. The team will still have its meetings and lunch on each game day in the morning as usual. So in my media world, that just means a shift from a post-skate media access to a pre-meeting media access, which works just as well.

The champs are in town tonight, and there are tickets are still available. The black jersey’s will finally make their debut, which is something that every player I have talked to is really excited about. I know it’s a Monday night, but just a reminder that this is the last chance to see the Canes in Raleigh for the entire month.

Also, I would be remiss if I didn't mention another couple reasons tonight is special.  Mrs. Guy Behind the Guy will be celebrating her birthday tonight at the RBC Center, as will Mr. Brian Tatum.

Media Alert: For the XM users out there, I am pretty sure that “Checkin’ in with Hurricane Tim” will probably be shifted to tomorrow afternoon, since today is a game day. I will update this note here if I hear otherwise.