Every Monday during the season two of our hockey writers will debate one topic. It's the 2-on-1. This week, Bruce Ciskie and Christopher Botta talk about the sudden struggles of last year's playoff darlings, the Carolina Hurricanes.
It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We continue our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Southeast Division.
The Southeast is probably going to be the most boring division in hockey this offseason. Three of the teams don't have the financial capability to make the sort of splash they need, and the other two were good enough to mostly maintain the status quo.
Still, we've got two top-5 draft picks to look forward to, as well as the ongoing sagas surrounding the stars for both Florida franchises.
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.
When the Detroit Red Wings signed Johan Franzen to an 11-year contract extension back in April, reactions were mixed. Some folks, like a number of the commenters at the Hockey's Future boards, thought the Red Wings were out of their minds for signing a soon-to-be 30-year-old forward to an 11-year contract. Others, like the good people at Abel to Yzerman, applauded general manager Ken Holland for not messing around when it comes to keeping the guys he wants.
We're only a month into the new deal, but the early results are stellar. Franzen has continued to excel as one of the better power forwards in the NHL, and has proven himself to be one of the best playoff, big-game goal-scorers the NHL has seen in quite some time.
The Boston Bruins were the best team in the NHL's Eastern Conference for most of the season. They were a serious threat to win the President's Trophy, which goes to the best team in the league. During a first-round sweep of rival Montreal, the Bruins looked like a real contender.
After Friday night's loss to the underdog Carolina Hurricanes, the Bruins are one loss away from a tee time at the local country club. That great regular season is in danger of going up in smoke.
The Bruins managed only 23 shots on the night, doubled by Carolina's total of 46. That included only four shots in the third period as the Canes continued to pour it on. Thomas gave the Bruins a chance to win, but finally, in the first overtime, Jussi Jokinen scored to give Carolina the win and a 2-1 lead in the series.
The Hurricanes must not have been content with letting the Washington Capitals take the spotlight for the night. After the Capitals defeated the Rangers in a thrilling contest on a stellar shot from Sergei Fedorov, the 'Canes one-upped that ending with their own miracle finish, scoring two goals in the final 80 seconds to overcome a 3-2 deficit and eliminate the Devils. The 'Canes advance to play the Bruins in the second round.
But that's a discussion to have later, because Carolina deserves to revel for a night in its tenacity, busting through a Devils defense that stifled for 55 minutes, particularly in the second half of the game. The sequence that unfolded over the game's final minutes left the jaws of everyone watching agape, with the Devils and their fans staring at the floor wondering how their season went from dashing to deceased.
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.
The NHL playoffs have been a bit dull so far. There have been some dominating performances by great teams, and some of the underdogs clearly don't belong on the same ice. The best series, by far, has been New Jersey against Carolina. They did it again Tuesday night. The Hurricanes took a 3-0 lead, threatened to run away with the game, and promptly kicked the lead away. The Devils were the stronger team for much of the third, but could not take the lead. Just when we were looking at a third straight overtime game, the Hurricanes pulled a mighty large - and somewhat controversial - rabbit out of their hat.
Red Wings 8, Oilers 3: Here's a fun fact: at the end of the first period of Saturday's Detroit-Edmonton game, the Red Wings had as many goals (five), as the Oilers had shots. One word can sum this up: domination. The Wings continued to pour it on, completing an 8-3 thrashing of Edmonton at Joe Louis Arena.
It's the second time in just over a week that the Oilers have been on the wrong end of a blowout, getting steamrolled by Buffalo, 10-2, back on January 27. The Oilers have now lost four of six, while the Red Wings extended their modest winning streak to three as they head into their NBC tilt with the Penguins on Sunday.
It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We continue our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Southeast Division.
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. 
When the Detroit Red Wings signed Johan Franzen to an 11-year contract extension back in April, reactions were mixed. Some folks, like a number of the commenters at the Hockey's Future boards, thought the Red Wings were out of their minds for signing a soon-to-be 30-year-old forward to an 11-year contract. Others, like the good people at Abel to Yzerman, applauded general manager Ken Holland for not messing around when it comes to keeping the guys he wants. 
The Boston Bruins were the best team in the NHL's Eastern Conference for most of the season. They were a serious threat to win the President's Trophy, which goes to the best team in the league. During a first-round sweep of rival Montreal, the Bruins looked like a real contender.
For three periods, Boston's Tim Thomas proved why he was one of three NHL netminders nominated for this year's Vezina Trophy. He singlehandedly kept the Bruins in a game in which they were getting dominated. .jpg)
The Hurricanes must not have been content with letting the Washington Capitals take the spotlight for the night. After the Capitals defeated the Rangers in a thrilling contest on a stellar shot from Sergei Fedorov, the 'Canes one-upped that ending with their own miracle finish, scoring two goals in the final 80 seconds to overcome a 3-2 deficit and eliminate the Devils. The 'Canes advance to play the Bruins in the second round.
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.
Red Wings 8, Oilers 3: Here's a fun fact: at the end of the first period of Saturday's Detroit-Edmonton game, the Red Wings had as many goals (five), as the Oilers had shots. One word can sum this up: domination. The Wings continued to pour it on, completing an 8-3 thrashing of Edmonton at Joe Louis Arena.
