FanHouse MarcStaal

With the NHL playoffs just around the corner, FanHouse takes a look at some of the lesser-known teams that qualified. Friday's installment: the Carolina Hurricanes

When the Whalers left Hartford back in 1997 to become the Carolina Hurricanes, they left a lot of things behind: the best jerseys in the NHL, Brass Bonanza, and, perhaps, most importantly, a losing tradition. In their 18 seasons in Hartford, the Whalers qualified for the playoffs eight times, and only once advanced beyond the first round.

Since moving to Carolina, the team has played in the Stanley Cup Final twice (2002 and 2006) while ultimately winning it all during the 2005-06 campaign. Heading into the playoffs this year, the Hurricanes are one of the hottest teams in the NHL, steamrolling the opposition. So, who are these guys?

In the third period of Pittsburgh's 4-3 win over the Rangers on Saturday afternoon, Colton Orr was issued a five-minute major for interference (and a game misconduct) for this hit on Pittsburgh's Mark Eaton.

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In what was the New York Rangers' weekly appearance on the NBC game of the week, Nikolai Zherdev scored the game-winning goal late in the third period when he pounced on a fortunate bounce off the end boards and fired it into a wide open net, giving the Rangers a 4-3 win over Boston.

With the game tied, 3-3, late in the third, Rangers defenseman Marc Staal carried the puck into the Boston zone and fired an innocent shot off the boards. Boston goalie Manny Fernandez, who struggled all day, found himself out of position well out of his crease, giving Zherdev the entire net to shoot at.

On Monday night when the Penguins hit the ice against the Rangers, the game featured the brotherly matchup of Jordan Staal vs. Marc Staal, an event that gets mentioned no fewer than 100 times whenever it takes place. The same thing happens when Jordan and/or Marc take on Eric Staal in Carolina, and may God help us when Jared Staal makes the the NHL. The somewhat over the top promotion of the matchup even results in extracurricular activities from the viewers at home.

Anyway, there's another family reunion of sorts on Tuesday night, when the New Jersey Devils take on the Carolina Hurricanes. The Devils, as you may know, are coached by Brent Sutter, while his son, Brandon, happens to play for Carolina. It's the first time the two have ever faced off in a game, and Brent isn't exactly looking forward to the challenge of coaching against his son, even though he played against his five brothers time-and-time again in the NHL. As Colin Stephenson of the Star-Ledger reports, (Brent) Sutter thinks this is a completely different challenge:

"It's an awkward thing,'' Sutter said, turning serious. "It's a unique thing... as a dad, I'm very proud of him, as I am of all my kids. It's different than playing against a brother. It's just different. It's your own son.''

Brandon was the Hurricanes No. 1 pick (11th overall) in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, and has recorded one goal and five assists in 32 games for Carolina this season. He's also managed to come back from a devastating hit by New York's Doug Weight earlier in the season.

Fire & Ice has more on the father vs. son tilt.

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.

Lost in all of the madness that was Sidney Crosby's latest efforts to a become a fighter, was an epic battle between Washington's Alexander Semin and New York's Marc Staal. Observe the glorious video:



Words fail me.

Honestly, I was waiting for him to start pulling out Staal's hair, who apparently wanted nothing to do with Semin's open-handed slaps to the back of the head. I can't decide if this is the best fight video ever, or the worst fight video ever.

Still, this leaves open the debate as to who the worst fighter in the NHL currently is. On one hand, we've seen Crosby punch a guy in the groin, and then do whatever it was he did to Brett McLean.

On the other hand, we have Semin who seems to have developed a strategy similar to the ones we all used to see in high school. You know, when Jessica tried to fight Nicole for kissing Josh behind the pop machine.

Click here for more NHL playoff previews.

This is the series most likely to be referred to as "the closest series in the second round." Both the Pens and Rangers finished the regular season on fire, both of them breezed through the first round, and they've already played each other eight times this year. I think it's fair to say that neither team will find this match-up as easy as their first rounder.

And we've got subplots, too! In addition to being division rivals, we've got Jaromir Jagr playing against Pittsburgh in what might be his last season and thus, last chance to take a team of his own to a cup. The Rangers took 5 of the eight regular season games from the Pens this year, but two of their wins went to overtime. This one really breaks down to the classic offense vs. defense battle.

Over at his home blog, James Mirtle has been keeping tabs on players which have survived the last of their team's training camp cuts, and will begin the season on their respective pro rosters.

Along with the well-hyped Calder candidates (such as Nicklas Backstrom, Patrick Kane, and Jack Johnson) are quite a few other skilled prospects which teams hope will develop into a solid full-time players for their squad.

A few to watch out for:

1. Jonathan Bernier, G, Los Angeles Kings - The Kings had some serious issues on goal. Rather than go with old hand Dan Cloutier, the Kings decided to keep the 19-year Bernier (their first rounder from '06) and start him in their season opener against the LA Kings. So far, so good, as Bernier won his debut match.

2. Milan Lucic, W, Boston Bruins - The Memorial Cup MVP (pictured) didn't have a point in the preseason, but the Bruins loved his physical style and brute strength. Lucic has come a long way in the past year, and will make at least a very good 4th line enforcer. He has a lot of upside, and is expected to be returned to the WHL. Keep an eye on him, as he'll be kicking ass and taking names in the NHL in the near future. Whether he'll be another Todd Bertuzzi (minus all of the attitude issues) or another Brad May (minus the cheap shots) remains to be seen.

3. Andrej Sekera, D, Buffalo Sabres - A third round pick from '04, Sekera is an underrated delight who is adept at both ends of the rink. He's not a likely Calder candidate, but should provide the Sabres with solid 2-way play for many years to come. Is he ready this year? I would opine that he needs another season of AHL seasoning, but the Sabres might not have the luxury of time.