Hurricanes Coach Bill Peters Roasts Backup Goalie Eddie Lack Over Poor Play

When in doubt, blame your backup goalie.

With a solid 36 hours since the team's last game—a 4-3 overtime loss to Tampa Bay on Wednesday—Carolina Hurricanes head coach Bill Peters was still fuming as he answered questions from the media on Friday. The primary subject of Peters' frustration on this day was backup goaltender Eddie Lack, who has started only eight games this season but allowed four goals on 16 shots during the team's most recent loss.

When asked if the remainder of the season would see a competition between Lack and starter Cam Ward for playing time down the stretch, Peters didn't hold back as he unleashed a brutally honest tirade on his backup tender.

"Well, you've got to push," Peters said. "One guy has played 10 games. Eddie has played 10 games and was poor in his last outing, let's not kid ourselves, right? There were 16 shots, four went in. Not good enough. You look at his numbers in the league, they're not good enough.

"So when he gets in another game, you better play. You better earn some respect from your teammates. Your teammates are out there working their bag off. You better get some saves, and a timely save at the right time wouldn't hurt," he said.

Lack has had a dreadful season thus far, as he currently sits dead last (among goaltenders with at least 10 games played) with a .873 save percentage, and third-last with a 3.33 goals against average. His terrible numbers haven't slipped by the eye of coach Peters, as he checked himself for a brief moment before continuing his rant.

"That's a little bit honest, eh? I just looked it up. You look up any goalie who has played 10 games in the National Hockey League and the top 60 in save percentage, I know who's 60. There's 30 teams. Not good enough."

The Hurricanes head coach reportedly ended the scrum by staring down the hallway, in the direction of Lack's dressing room stall and said, "Make a save."

A reasonable request, perhaps, but the play of a goaltender who has battled through concussion issues for the majority of the season should be the least of the head coach's concerns. Through 60 games this season, the 'Canes sit tied for fourth last in the NHL with 60 points, rank No. 25 in goals scored, and No. 22 with a 17.2 percent powerplay efficiency.

Did I mention Lack has only started eight out of those 60 games? Yeah.