FanHouse Paul Maurice

The Carolina Hurricanes rallied from an awful slump early in the season. A second-half surge got them comfortably into the Stanley Cup playoffs, and they made it all the way to the Eastern Conference finals before running out of gas against eventual champion Pittsburgh.

The architect of this rally was interim coach Paul Maurice, who replaced Peter Laviolette in December. Monday, the organization finally got around to rewarding Maurice for his work.

After giving up six goals in Game 2, Cam Ward did everything he possibly could to keep the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 and give them an opportunity to win. Then, with about 10 minutes to play in the third period, the flood gates opened and Pittsburgh took a commanding 3-0 lead in the series with a convincing 6-2 win.

As hard as it might be to believe after giving up five goals (Pittsburgh also scored an empty net goal), Ward actually played a really strong game, turning aside 34 shots, some in spectacular fashion. The Penguins were simply relentless in their offensive attack, while Evgeni Malkin led the way with his sixth consecutive multi-point game, setting a franchise record.

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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?

The Bruins and Hurricanes enter their Eastern Conference semifinal coming off completely different opening round wins.

On one hand, Boston absolutely dominated a hapless Canadiens squad with a clean four-game sweep. On the other hand, Carolina had to go seven games with the Devils, including a nail-biter in the deciding game that saw the Hurricanes tie it, and win it, in the final two minutes of regulation.

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.

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A lot was understandably made of Martin Brodeur's reaction after losing Game 4 to the Hurricanes on a last-nanosecond goal, but he looked a lot happier in his post-game on-ice interview with MSG TV on Thursday night. Shutting out the opposition to put them on the brink of elimination will do that for your demeanor.

Brodeur followed up the loss and the subsequent criticisms of his play and attitude with a stellar performance in the Devils' 1-0 win over the Hurricanes. Don't be misled by the score, though -- this game had lots of offensive bite.

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In a set of first round playoff series that look, at least on paper, to be more competitive than usual, the most hard-fought battle might be the one between the Devils and the Hurricanes. The teams entered the postseason at opposite ends of the spectrum -- the Devils waded through March like they were wearing cement boots, while the Hurricanes, despite losing their last two of the season, finished remarkably hot.

Tom Gulitti is the Devils beat writer for the Bergen Record and, as the voice of Fire & Ice, one of the best beat bloggers in the league. He took some time out to speak with FanHouse about the Devils and their first-round matchup.

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?

Paul Maurice made his debut in his second stint with the Hurricanes on Thursday night, and, well, it wasn't exactly an impressive showing by Carolina, as the Penguins walked out of the building with a 5-2 win. Sidney Crosby registered four assists on the night, while Petr Sykora picked up a pair of power play goals to lead the Penguins.

Carolina goalie Michael Leighton struggled most of the night, giving up the five goals on only 22 shots. He struggled with puck control and wasn't exactly helped by his defense, as they were guilty of a few costly turnovers in the defensive zone. With the Hurricanes trailing 1-0 in the first, Josef Melichar (former Penguin) turned the puck over to Pascal Dupuis who ripped a shot behind Leighton giving the Penguins an early 2-0 lead.

Ruslan Fedotenko and Miroslav Satan also scored for the Penguins, while Tuomo Ruutu and Matt Cullen scored the only two goals of the night for Carolina. Both goals brought the Hurricanes to within two goals on the scoreboard, only to have the Penguins quickly strike back, squashing any momentum Carolina may have built.

The Hurricanes have now lost four of their past five games.