Canes carved up early

RALEIGH -- It didn't matter that the Carolina Hurricanes had their dads in town, and they'd never lost in that situation.

It didn't matter that they were looking to close out a three-game homestand with a third win.

It didn't matter that they had taken at least a point from their previous seven games.

It didn't matter that Cam Ward had lost only twice to the Montreal Canadiens in 10 previous regular-season and playoff games.

None of that matters when a team gives up five power-play goals. By the time Mike Commodore scored into his own net, it was pretty clear that the Hurricanes were in serious trouble, no matter how well they might have been playing lately.

"It was a great deflection," Commodore said. "Just into the wrong net."

That was the third of four power-play goals the Canadiens scored in the first 18 1/2 minutes on their way to a 7-4 win Friday, putting a depressing spin on an otherwise laudable few weeks for the Hurricanes.

"It's frustrating, no question," Hurricanes center Eric Staal said. "We've been skating well and doing the right things, but nothing seemed to be going our way in the first. We just weren't moving our feet, and when our team's not moving our feet, it results in some penalties and goals against. That's where we were tonight."

Throw in the three Montreal power-play goals in the season opener, and the Hurricanes have allowed eight power-play goals to the Canadiens in three games -- half of Montreal's NHL-best 16 on the season -- while allowing six to the rest of the NHL in their other eight games.

In a nightmare first period for the Hurricanes, the Canadiens went 4-for-4 on the power play, scoring every which way -- slap shots, one-timers, rebounds and without even touching the puck when Commodore accidentally deflected a pass his own net.

"They moved the puck about as well as a power play can move it," Commodore said. "We weren't great on the penalty-kill, but you have to give them credit. Their passes were right on the tape and when they had a chance to shoot, they shot. It was like Maurice Richard and Guy Lafleur out there."

An even-strength goal started it less than four minutes into the game; Jeff Hamilton scored for the Hurricanes in the middle of the period but it was lost in the shuffle as the Canes went into the second down 5-1.

"They had the early drop on us to the point that next thing you know, we were down three or four goals already," Ward said.

By then, John Grahame was in goal and the outcome of the game was pretty much beyond a doubt, even as the Hurricanes outshot the Canadiens 27-20 at even strength and added a Staal penalty shot and goals from Ray Whitney and Rod Brind'Amour. The captain's goal -- coming with 99 seconds to play -- extended his scoring streak to eight games.

That put a belated focus on a disallowed goal in the second period, when an apparent Craig Adams goal was first signaled and then waved off by the officials because a fight broke out in front of the net.

Still, it was hard to put too much import on that moment, given all the goals that did count for the Canadiens in the first period.

"Take that part out of the game, and it's a different game," Brind'Amour said. "We could never get any kind of a rhythm going because we were in the box and they were scoring and we never really got a flow going up front. It was one of those nights where you're just fighting it right from the get-go."

After their first regulation loss in five home games, the Hurricanes, along with their fathers, headed north to face the New York Islanders tonight. They won't have to watch the video on the flight. They spent enough time standing around watching the Canadiens on the power play during the first period.

"From the drop of the puck, we didn't have a lot of jump in our stride," Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette said. "I don't know if it's so much sync or if it's work ethic. For me, it's more work ethic that I saw tonight. ... Everybody needed to be better in the first period. Everybody."