Boychuk's play earns praise, confidence

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Lost in all the gloom and dejection of the Canes' 3-2 loss Friday to the Maple Leafs was that Zach Boychuk made his NHL debut this season and played well. Let's just say the winger, called up Friday from Albany (AHL), played well enough to make coach Paul Maurice more than comfortable with what he saw on the ice. "What you're hoping for, on a team struggling for offense, you're hoping for offense," Maurice said today. "You want to be able to play the young player, so you want that confidence and comfort level as a coach. "What he did was do all the things he needed to do to buy himself the ice time, and eventually his hand skills and his ability will come out. That's what you're hoping for." Boychuk played on Matt Cullen's line with Erik Cole and had 15:11 of ice time and a team-high five shots on goal. In the final moments of the second period, he had Canes fans roaring at the RBC Center when he shook free on a breakaway, only to be stopped by goaltender ...