FanHouse ChadLarose

Well this is kind of a letdown. After watching the Penguins take on long-time rivals Philadelphia and Washington in the first two rounds of the Eastern Conference playoffs, they're now taking on the Carolina Hurricanes in the conference final. It's a match-up that offers nothing in the way of hatred, bitterness or rivalry. Hopefully the Staal brothers pull a Keith and Wayne Primeau and fight sometime in the first two games. You know, just to stir the pot a little bit.

Having said that, this is an interesting match-up when it comes to hockey and that, of course, is the most important thing. It should be an exciting series, and who knows, perhaps by the end of it both teams will end up hating each other anyway.

It must be tough to be a Carolina Hurricanes fan. Consider this for a moment: twice in the last seven years the franchise formerly known as the Hartford Whalers has fought its way to the Stanley Cup Finals -- winning it all in the first year after the lockout in 2006 -- only to miss the playoffs the following two seasons.

In any other market, such a performance would be devastating. But in a non-traditional market like Raleigh, North Carolina, it very well could have been fatal. A Stanley Cup is supposed to cement a team's place in the heart of a community that it calls home, but runs like the team had in 2002 and 2006 were supposed to be performances to build on to fill the build, not memories to fall back on with failure just around the corner.

That a team with such a recent championship on its resume finished 21st overall in attendance this season has to be considered something of an embarrassment.

But here the Hurricanes are again, like the NHL's version of Hailey's comet, just four games from a third trip the Finals in the last six NHL seasons, with only the defending Eastern Conference champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins, in the way. Granted, that's one heck of an obstacle, but it still begs the question: how the heck did it happen?

As we continue to digest the incredible events of Tuesday night's Carolina-New Jersey game in Raleigh, it's obvious that at least one Devil is still quite bitter about what went down.

Goalie Martin Brodeur impressed nobody when he slammed his stick around as he skated off the ice after the last-second Hurricanes goal was reviewed and allowed to stand. After the game, his anger hadn't settled down very much, and he made sure everyone knew why he was upset.

They might not be getting love on Versus or NBC, relegating live television coverage of their series to those who get NHL Center Ice or live in their respective areas.

However, there hasn't been a more competitive series than the one between Carolina and New Jersey. The teams were tied 1-1 heading into Game Three Sunday night, which became the second straight in the series to require overtime. After losing home-ice advantage with a 2-1 defeat Friday, the Devils took it back with a 3-2 overtime win Sunday in Raleigh.

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Newsmakers in the NHL is a weekday morning attempt to clear yesterday's rebounds and look to the day ahead.

Hurricanes 4, Rangers 2: Carolina continued its winning ways with a 4-2 win over the Rangers on Thursday night, extending its current winning streak to seven games. Chad LaRose scored a pair of goals in the win, while Cam Ward stopped 36 shots, including 29 through the first two periods.

Blackhawks 3, Hurricanes 2: The Carolina Hurricanes had their four-game winning streak snapped thanks to a 3-2 shootout loss in Chicago, though they still managed to gain an important point thanks to Tuomo Ruutu's game-tying goal with just 27 seconds to play in regulation, sending the game to overtime.

With the Hurricanes trailing, 2-1, Chicago's Jonathan Toews was called for hooking Carolina's Chad LaRose late in the third period. Just 36 seconds later, Ruutu beat Cristobal Huet for his 21st goal of the season.

Hurricanes 5, Avalanche 2: Led by Matt Cullen's hat trick, Carolina picked up a dominating 5-2 win over the Avalanche on Sunday to move within one point of the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference. The Hurricanes held a commanding 39-19 edge in the shots department, as the Avalanche spent nearly a third of the game down a man.

Cam Ward stopped 17-of-19 shots in net, while Joni Pitkanen, Ray Whitney and Chad LaRose each finished with two points in the win.

Devils 4, Bruins 3: The premier matchup on Thursday's schedule had to be the New Jersey-Boston tilt, and it didn't disappoint as the Devils took a 4-3 decision in overtime. Jamie Langenbrunner scored a pair of goals for the Devils, including the game-winner 1:11 into overtime.

After jumping out to a 2-0 lead through the first two periods, New Jersey watched the Bruins roar back with three goals in the third period before Patrick Elias tied the game with just under two minutes to play in regulation. Zach Parise picked up his 29th goal of the season in the win, while Scott Clemmensen made 24 saves. New Jersey has now won seven consecutive games while allowing only 12 goals during the streak. Who needs Martin Brodeur, eh?

Brendan Shanahan made his season debut for the New Jersey Devils on Monday night, and it didn't take him long to make an impact. At the 1:38 mark of the second period, the 39-year-old forward beat Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne from right on top of the crease, giving the Devils a 1-0 lead on their way to a 3-1 win over the Predators.

Shanahan registered nearly 14-minutes of ice-time, while firing six shots on goal. His tally came on the power play, which is where he should make his biggest impact for a New Jersey team that entered play on Monday ranked 15th in the league with the man advantage.

Scott Clemmensen stopped 31 shots to pick up the win for the Devils, while Brian Rolston recorded a pair of assists.

Thanks to a pair of goals from Matt Ellis, the Buffalo Sabres ended Boston's 10-game winning streak with a 4-2 victory at TD Banknorth Garden on Saturday afternoon. The loss not only snaps Boston's 10-game winning streak, it also ended a 14-game home winning streak, while also giving the Bruins their sixth regulation loss of the season.

Ellis opened the scoring for the Sabres just three minutes into regulation, while Thomas Vanek added his 26th goal of the season just two minutes later.

After Phil Kessel cut the deficit in half with his 24th goal of the season, Ellis added his second goal of the game early in the second period to score what proved to be the game-winner. Paul Gaustad added his fourth goal of the year for the Sabres, while Ryan Miller turned aside 29 shots in net.

The win for Buffalo, combined with Pittsburgh's loss to Florida, moved the Sabres into the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.