Canes history 101: What happens when they reach the Eastern Conference finals
The Carolina Hurricanes are in the Eastern Conference finals for the fourth time since they moved to North Carolina in 1997.
The Canes have been prone to playoff droughts — they didn’t make the postseason after 2009 until this season — but when they get in the postseason they do damage.
They have more appearances in the conference finals since 2002 than the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs combined (three). The Chicago Blackhawks are the only Original Six team with more trips to the conference finals over the same time span. (The Detroit Red Wings also have made four trips.)
The Canes open hockey’s version of the final four on Thursday at Boston. The Bruins had the most points during the regular season (104) of any team left in the playoffs.
The Bruins beat the Maple Leafs, in seven games, and the Columbus Blue Jackets, in six games, to return to the conference finals for the first time since 2013.
How the Canes fared in their first three trips to this round of the Stanley Cup playoffs:
2009
Opponent: Pittsburgh Penguins
Regular season: Canes 45-30-7, 97 points; Penguins 45-28-9, 99 points
Playoff seed: Canes No. 6, Penguins No. 4
How they got there: Canes — First round, beat New Jersey Devils, 4-3; Second round, beat Boston Bruins, 4-3. Penguins — First round, beat Philadelphia Flyers, 4-2; Second round, beat Washington Capitals, 4-3.
The Canes came improbably close to winning the 2005 draft lottery (they ended up with the No. 3 pick) and a generational pick in center Sidney Crosby. Four years later, they got to see firsthand what they missed.
Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2004 draft (the one held in Raleigh), dominated the Canes in a four-game sweep of the ‘09 Eastern Conference finals. Crosby had seven points and Malkin had nine, including six goals, in four games.
The closest the Canes came to winning was in the series opener. After falling behind 2-0 in the first period, the Hurricanes cut Pittsburgh’s lead to 3-2 on a goal by Joe Corvo with 1:26 left in the third. Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury made a brilliant late save on Eric Staal to prevent the Canes from forcing overtime.
The Canes led 3-2 after one period in Game 2 in Pittsburgh but the Pens scored five of the next six goals to pull away for a 7-4 win. Malkin had a hat trick.
After winning each of the first two rounds of the playoffs in seven games, the Canes were spent and it showed. They couldn’t keep up with Pittsburgh’s talent in Game 3 when the series got to Raleigh. Matt Cullen gave the Canes a 1-0 lead 4 minutes into the game but the Pens, with a pair of goals by Malkin and one by Crosby, answered quickly in a 6-2 win.
For the second straight game the Canes scored first, from Staal just 96 seconds into the first period, but the Pens had the last answer. In this case, it was the final four goals of the game. The fourth Pittsburgh goal came from former Canes grinder Craig Adams, just rub a little salt in the season-ending wound.
Crosby would lead the Pens to the first of his three Stanley Cup titles with a seven-game series win over Detroit in the finals.
2006
Opponent: Buffalo Sabres
Regular season: Canes 52-22-8, 112 points; Sabres 52-24-6, 110 points
Playoff seed: Canes No. 2, Sabres No. 4
How they got there: Canes — First round, beat Montreal Canadiens, 4-2; Second round, beat New Jersey Devils, 4-1. Sabres —First round, beat Philadelphia Flyers, 4-2; Second round, beat the Ottawa Senators, 4-1.
This series is still remembered in Buffalo as “one of the ones that got away,” mostly due to injuries, including the absence of defenseman Jay McKee for Game 7.
Buffalo fans also oddly argued during the series that their team was better because the Canes were dominant on the power play, while the Sabres scored more of their goals at even strength. As if there’s a difference on the scoreboard.
Alas, after making easy work of the Devils in the second round, the Canes were put to the task by the Sabres and their outstanding goalie, Ryan Miller. The Sabres took Game 1, 3-2 in Raleigh, and the Canes answered with a 4-3 win in Game 2.
Buffalo, with a pair of goals by Daniel Briere, won Game 3 by a 4-3 margin.
Canes coach Peter Laviolette pushed the right buttons when he went back to goalie Martin Gerber, the team’s top goalie during the regular season, for Game 4 on the road. Gerber made 22 saves in a 4-0 shutout to even the series at 2.
The Sabres got to Gerber in Game 5, and Cam Ward settled back in with 12 saves to help the Canes win in Raleigh. Cory Stillman’s power-play goal at 8:46 in overtime gave the Canes a 4-3 win.
Game 6 in Buffalo also went to overtime but it was Briere, on the power play, who gave the Sabres a 2-1 win.
Game 7 was in Raleigh. Justin Williams was in the Canes’ lineup. Guess what happened? “Mr. Game 7,” before he officially picked up the nickname, had a goal and two assists as the Canes closed out the stubborn Sabres.
In the Stanley Cup finals, the Canes went seven games again and beat the Edmonton Oilers for their first title.
2002
Opponent: Toronto Maple Leafs
Regular season: Canes 35-26-16, 91 points; Maple Leafs 43-25-10, 100 points
Playoff seed: Canes No. 3, Maple Leafs No. 4
How they got there: Canes — First round, beat New Jersey Devils, 4-2; Second round, beat Montreal Canadiens, 4-2. Maple Leafs — First round, beat New York Islanders, 4-3; Second round, beat Ottawa Senators, 4-3.
While historic (the franchise had never previously reached this round) this series was actually somewhat anticlimactic. The Canes knocked out the big, bad Devils, the 2001 champs, in the first round to avenge the previous year’s playoff ouster.
In the second round, the Canes trailed Montreal 2 games to 1 and were down 3-0 in the third period before they pulled off the “Miracle at Molson.” The Canes looked like they were toast before a trio of third-period goals, the last by Erik Cole with 41 seconds left, to force overtime. “The Secret Weapon” Niclas Wallin delivered in overtime for the memorable win.
That’s a long way of saying, the Canes beat the champs and then the famous Canadian team ... and then had to face Toronto. The Maple Leafs, led by Mats Sundin and former Canes winger Gary Roberts, split the games in Raleigh but lost their first two home games to fall behind 3-1.
The Leafs prolonged the series with a 1-0 win in Raleigh in Game 5, on a first-period goal by Darcy Tucker.
Game 6 in Toronto was the third of the series to go to overtime. The Canes won all three of the extra-period games. Toronto native Jeff O’Neill scored in the third period and Martin Gelinas delivered the game-winner in overtime, off a great pass by the late Josef Vasicek.
The Canes silenced the home crowd and moved into the Stanley Cup finals for the first time in franchise history.
A juggernaut of a Detroit team awaited in the finals. The Canes won Game 1 in overtime, par for the course that postseason, but lost a triple-overtime epic in Game 3 in Raleigh and the series in five games.
This story was originally published May 8, 2019 at 6:11 PM.
