There's no place like the Devils' old home

Canes played well at Meadowlands

NEWARK, N.J. -- While the New Jersey Devils are excited about their new downtown arena and the rest of the league thrilled that the Meadowlands are no longer on the NHL travel agenda, the Carolina Hurricanes are feeling a bit wistful.

The Canes made their first visit to the brand-new, state-of-the-art Prudential Center on Saturday, and while the Devils' dumpy old Meadowlands home, Continental Airlines Arena, won't be missed, the Hurricanes do have some fond memories of the place.

After losing to the Devils in the first round in 2001, they clinched their 2002 first-round series win over the Devils there with a Ron Francis goal for a 1-0 win in Game 6.

(Kevin Weekes, the Canes' goalie that night, was the Devils' backup Saturday, while current Canes defenseman Mike Commodore was a healthy scratch for the Devils during that series.)

Four years later, their path to the Stanley Cup wound through the Meadowlands, with the Canes splitting the two games at New Jersey during a five-game win in the conference semifinals.

"Those things stand out," Hurricanes defenseman Glen Wesley said. "Some great playoff series. It's kind of bittersweet, I guess."

Wesley, Rod Brind'Amour and Niclas Wallin are the only Canes left who played in all three playoff series.

In the regular season, the Canes went 5-3-2 in the final five seasons at the Meadowlands, winning at least one game there each year -- including a 7-2 thumping in the last game in that building between the two teams on March 17.

Still, they won't miss the cramped quarters of the visiting dressing room, where space was so tight the player sitting nearest the entrance would get hit with the door every time it opened.

"We had some fun there, but that's just how it is," Wallin said. "You've got to keep it up to date."

WARD MAKES IT 10: Coming off a 33-save performance in a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals on Friday, Cam Ward started his 10th straight game in goal.

He made 11 consecutive starts last season from Oct. 25-Nov. 15 and 12 straight starts during the 2006 playoffs.

TOPSY-TURVY AT THE TOP: The Canes reclaimed first place in the Southeast Division with Friday's win, and were guaranteed to wake up this morning in the top spot regardless of what happened Saturday against the Devils or elsewhere in the division.

But having been bumped out of first twice in the last month, and with four teams separated by only three points going into Saturday, the Canes know their stay in first may be a brief one no matter how well they play.

"There will be a lot of jockeying down the stretch unless somebody can peel off eight or nine in a row," Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette said. "And that's maybe just because somebody plays three or four games while the other teams play just one."

And more important on Carolina's agenda than where they sit in the standings now is picking up wins against division opponents to maximize their tiebreaker position. At the end of the year, after points, the next two tiebreakers are wins and head-to-head record.

"We need to put a lot more emphasis on these division games, because they're going to play the biggest role," Hurricanes forward Erik Cole said. "It's all about points right now. Not even points. It's all about wins."