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.
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.
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.
Interesting news coming out of Carolina this morning, as the Hurricanes -- second place in the Southeast Division and eighth in the Eastern Conference -- have fired head coach Peter Laviolette and replaced him with a former bench-boss, Paul Maurice, as reported by TSN.
Laviolette becomes the third head coach to be fired this season -- and second from Southeast Division -- joining Tampa Bay's Barry Melrose and Chicago's Denis Savard.
After getting off to an 8-4-2 start to the season, the Hurricanes have gone just 4-7-0 since, including 1-4 over their past five games. Apparently that, combined with missing the playoffs the past two seasons, was enough to cost him his job.
This was Laviolette's fifth season in Carolina, while his teams have missed the playoffs in three of his previous four seasons. Though, the one year they did make the playoffs they won the Stanley Cup, defeating the Edmonton Oilers in seven games.
The New York Islanders have quietly and methodically going about their business of choosing a coaching replacement for Ted Nolan. Given how Puppet GM Garth Snow and Charles Wang Dang Doodle have managed the team in the past, I'm rather surprised that the Isles have been so patient in their process.
After a painstaking interview process in which he spoke with eight known candidates and contacted a few others, an NHL source indicated Snow has narrowed his list to three finalists. Former Atlanta coach Bob Hartley (pictured), former Toronto coach Paul Maurice and current AHL Providence coach Scott Gordon still are in the running, and Snow is expected to name one as the Isles' next coach early this week.
So, we have two retreads and an unknown (to most of us) coaching prospect. How do the candidates stack up?
As an American observer of the NHL, it can be hard sometimes communicating just how important the Toronto Maple Leafs are to the league. What we're talking about is the league's top franchise in Canada's top media market. By all reliable measures, the Leafs are the most valuable franchise in all of hockey.
And given Canada's linguistic schism, for many years, the Leafs were simply the team of all of English Canada, permanently pitted against their greatest rival, the Montreal Canadiens. To this day, you have large pockets of Leafs fans all over Canada, one of the reasons why it's so important for teams out West to expand the intraconference schedule, and get the Leafs to make regular road swings to Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.
Which is why the firing of Paul Maurice as Leafs head coach after just two seasons is really big news. Sure, for any other run of the mill team that had missed the playoffs three years in a row and hadn't won a championship in over 40 years, this sort of news is expected pretty regularly. But this is the Toronto Maple Leafs we're talking about, and the position of head coach is arguably one of the most stressful jobs in all of Canada outside of Prime Minister.
If you've been paying any attention to the rumblings coming out of Toronto, then you know that the Maple Leafs may or may not be on the verge of firing coach Paul Maurice and/or GM John Ferguson. The whole situation is very cloudy and confusing, really. I'm certainly too simple-minded to understand most of it. It seems to me like it's a good ol' "he said/she said" affair, but I digress. One of the best parts about today's sporting world is that anytime rumors like these start swirling about the possible firing of a coach, fact or fiction, there's a whirlwind of possible replacements named almost instantaneously by bloggers, MSM, fans and the like. For the latest example, take the Lloyd Carr situation at the University of Michigan. In the hockey world, the kettle that is the Toronto Maple Leafs is starting to boil over and rumors are swirling fast and furious. It doesn't matter if you believe the rumors that Maurice and Ferguson are on their way out, everyone and their dog has to have their say on the situation and name some predecessors. Today, I'm going to help you create your own rumor so that you can join in on the fun of rumormongering!
There are two very simple requirements for starting a rumor. First, the position in question must be in a high profile organization. Since we have the Toronto Maple Leafs head coaching job in question, we're set. It's arguably the most high profile coaching position in the NHL and comes complete with a large media following that can instantly create firestorms in addition to a hungry and sometimes crazed fan base. The other requirement is that you need to have a way to disseminate your rumor, but these days anyone can start a blog or forum post and claim to have inside info (if you really want to sound legit). Basically, all you need to start your rumor is an internet connection. Now that you have found an available position and an internet connection, you're well on your way to starting a legit rumor!
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 
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.
With the NHL playoffs just around the corner, FanHouse takes a look at some of the lesser-known teams that qualified. 
The New York Islanders have quietly and methodically going about their business of choosing a coaching replacement for Ted Nolan. Given how Puppet GM Garth Snow and Charles Wang Dang Doodle have managed the team in the past, I'm rather surprised that the Isles have been so patient in their process.
As an American observer of the NHL, it can be hard sometimes communicating just how important the Toronto Maple Leafs are to the league. What we're talking about is the league's top franchise in Canada's top media market. By all reliable measures, the Leafs are the most valuable franchise in all of hockey. 
If you've been paying any attention to the rumblings coming out of Toronto, then you know that 
