The Canes, struggling to find an identity early in this season, hosted the Rangers in their home opener. After giving up an early power play goal, Jeff Skinner put the team on his back.

Scoring two goals on a night where the Canes gave away free hats at the doors only meant one thing. With a half second left in the second period Skinner looked like he had his hat trick goal, only to find out the puck clipped Bryan Bickell’s jersey on the way past Henrik Lundqvist.

Either way, the hats rained down and that goal would be the winner. This was Skinner’s first game wearing a letter on his jersey as a professional player. It was very clear from the drop of the puck that it had a positive effect on his game.

Skinner is at a point in his career where he needs to step up and take this team in the direction it wants to go. If the Canes are going to find an identity, Skinner will be a big part of that.

Jeff Skinner’s line mate Victor Rask, also taking a big step in his career, had a two assist night. That makes seven straight games with a point to start the season. Rask is now tied for second in franchise history in that regard, and will be looking to track down general manager Ron Francis’s franchise record of an 11 game point streak to start a season.

Cam Ward stopped 28 of 30 shots, and gave the Canes a dominating performance in net. The Canes need a goalie to step up and take the reigns, so look for Ward to get another start and build off the home opener win.