The win column exists!

DURHAM (WTVD) -- As a sports fan, the worst thing that can happen to you is the absence of all hope. Terrible losses will sear the soul, monumental wins bring indescribable euphoria. There's at least life affirming invigoration in both those extremes. The worst state is resignation. The numbness of knowing the outcome before it plays out, and increasingly, not caring.

Just eight games into the 82 game slog of an NHL regular season, many Canes fans were already in that desolate emotional wasteland, and those that weren't were only a mile or two away in their modified Zamboni ATVs. Bill Peters seems a competent coach, Ron Francis will get a fair shake as GM, but good heavens, what a terrible team. Absent of any positives on the ice - it was time to finally get around to learning how to curl and write Connor McDavid fan fiction.

Then, something happened. A convincing win over Arizona and a stunner on Sunday vs the defending Stanley Cup champions. How the Canes got there from where they were Friday is what interests me. Here are the reasons for the weekend in my estimation:

1) Health - getting Skinner, then Staal back is obviously a huge difference maker. Skinner's the team's best instinctive scorer and Staal's their best player. And, as Peters flatly said before the weekend, having those two back (plus Gerbe and Dwyer) gave him the flexibility to...

2) Stick Alexander Semin upstairs. No one gets the Canes diehards more inflamed than #28.

Whatever your thoughts about his treatment in the media or by the coaching staff, there was no logical argument to defend his sorry start to the season. He had to sit or Peters had no leg to stand on when it came to team-wide accountability. Semin's hopefully an integral part of the puzzle going forward - Peters said he'll play Tuesday - but at least the new coach has shown he's not going to waste time tiptoeing around. Bring it or bring your suit.

3) Cam Ward in the wayback machine. For all the preseason talk from Cam about his new physique and freshly scrubbed psyche, he looked the same mediocre goalie to start the year that'd he been the last several seasons. Saturday and Sunday we saw a different guy - an old familiar face from faded black and white photos of the 2000s. Can he keep it up? I think it's fair to request a larger sample size, but it's a promising development to say the least.

4) The young guns finally started firing. Elias Lindholm needs to be a nightly threat. He was invisible in the 8 game skid. Victor Rask has been very solid, but getting that first goal for him may open the offensive gates a bit too.

5) A GIANT FIREMAN HAT.

I love this thing for its goofiness, but I like what it embodies. Peters said Thursday that his team had remained in good mental spirits, and had been receptive to his coaching. I don't think anyone will confuse the Canes roster with the league machines in LA, Chicago et al, so maybe a Bad News Bears approach will catch on.

These are all Captain Obvious observations, but add them to the pre-existing positives this season (Tlusty, Terry, Nash, TOTAL FACEOFF CIRCLE ANNIHILATION) and you've got at least the makings of a competitive outfit. The playoffs still seem a dim possibility, but at least there's a flicker of torchlight, aka hope, in the room at PNC Arena and that's much more than I could've imagined entering the weekend.