Canes' first goal: playoffs

Veterans know what it takes to win Stanley Cup, but Carolina must reach postseason first

RALEIGH -- For Ray Whitney of the Carolina Hurricanes, winning the Stanley Cup in 2006 was exhilarating and intoxicating.

"To be honest with you, it's such a high emotionally that it's like a drug," the Canes' veteran winger said. "When you do it, and you think back to that night, for the players who were there and the feeling it created, I don't think too many drugs would have gotten us any higher than that feeling.

"You want that back. When you do it, you want to do it again even more. It's just an unbelievable feeling, but it's an incredibly hard thing to do."

A lot goes into winning "that trophy," as the Canes' Eric Staal called it.

Good talent. Good coaching. A good, productive system. Good health. Good goaltending. Maybe a little luck, too.

"You need that energy and that work ethic and the chemistry and making sure everyone is doing their job," Staal said. "All those things have to come together."

While winning the Stanley Cup is the ultimate objective, making the playoffs is a more immediate goal. The Hurricanes haven't done that the past two seasons, falling just short last season when they were over-run by the surging Washington Capitals at the end and failed to win the Southeast Division.

"It's hard to make the playoffs," defenseman Frantisek Kaberle said. "With the economics [salary cap] in the league, all the teams are pretty even these days.

"You have to be at your best throughout the whole season. Especially in the middle, in December and January, it's important you win because at the end you need every point to make the playoffs."

A slide in late November and early December last season robbed the Canes of those points. By year's end, a 43-33-6 record wasn't good enough.

"Every team has its ups and downs in a season. Ours was a little too long," defenseman Niclas Wallin said.

The Canes also had a staggering 337 man-games lost in the season because of injuries and illness. That was 70 more than in the 2006 season.

The Hurricanes already have absorbed some hits. Forward Justin Williams tore an Achilles tendon in September, sidelining him for four to six months. Forward Scott Walker had surgery this week for a ligament injury to his left hand and will miss the first six weeks of the season.

Still, the players believe enough pieces are in place, not just to reach the playoffs again but to be a contender. The trade for defenseman Joni Pitkanen should give the Canes more punch from the blue line. Goalie Cam Ward has the potential to be one of the NHL's best goalies. Staal is a proven scorer. The power play should be potent.

"I think it's a good, well-rounded team," defenseman Joe Corvo said. "I feel pretty confident. I don't see anybody beating up on us."

Williams should return at some point, bolstering the lines and adding a scoring threat.

"He can be back for the critical stretch of the season," general manager Jim Rutherford said.

Missing the playoffs the past two seasons has cost the team millions of dollars and left everyone in a funk. Attendance took a slight dip last season.

Should the Canes fail to reach the playoffs, some tough decisions could be made about personnel and coaches. Management might decide to move in another direction. The core group that won the Cup could be dissolved.

"You're always evaluating," Rutherford said.

In 2006, the Canes won 16 playoff games in a grind that captain Rod Brind'Amour equated to climbing Mount Everest. There were clutch goals, clutch victories and, in the end, a Stanley Cup.

"Our goal is to win opening night, our goal is to win our division, our goal is to win the Stanley Cup," coach Peter Laviolette said. "Our job is to get to the playoffs and compete for that thing.

"It's not an easy job to get to the end of the road, but it's everybody's goal, and it's certainly ours."