Series Matchups
- STANLEY CUP FINAL
- Carolina vs Edmonton
- ROUND THREE
- Western Conference
- Anaheim vs Edmonton
- Eastern Conference
- Carolina vs Buffalo
- ROUND TWO
- Western Conference
- San Jose vs Edmonton
- Anaheim vs Colorado
- Eastern Conference
- Ottawa vs Buffalo
- Carolina vs New Jersey
- ROUND ONE
- Western Conference
- Detroit vs Edmonton
- Dallas vs Colorado
- Calgary vs Anaheim
- Nashville vs San Jose
- Eastern Conference
- Ottawa vs Tampa Bay
- Carolina vs Montreal
- New Jersey vs NY Rangers
- Buffalo vs Philadelphia
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VS |
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| Carolina wins best-of-seven series 4-3 | ||
Carolina (2)
Buffalo (4)
Hurricanes advance to Cup final
Rod Brind'Amour broke a 2-2 tie with 8:38 left in the third period and Justin Williams added an insurance goal with 52 seconds to go to propel the Carolina Hurricanes into the Stanley Cup final for the second time in four seasons. » FULL STORY
Past Stories
- Sabres win in OT to force Game 7
- Hurricanes rally, beat Sabres in OT
- Season over for Erik Cole
- Henrik Tallinder breaks arm
- Hurricanes thump battered Sabres
- Sabres rebound against Hurricanes
- Hurricanes solve Miller, tie series
- Sabres strike first on Hurricanes
- Coaches change with the times
- Sabres oust Senators in OT
- Hurricanes knock off Devils
- Ryan Miller's time to shine
- Brind'Amour: inexhaustible warrior
TEAM ANALYSIS
| Regular-season numbers | Strengths | Weaknesses | Key Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carolina Hurricanes |
The Hurricanes can score, as they showed by piling up the second-most regular-season goals in the East, and they've added a new wrinkle to their explosive offence – a hot power play. After finishing in the bottom half of the league in regular-season power-play efficiency, Carolina has made good on 27.8 per cent of its chances in the playoffs, the best rate in the league. The Hurricanes have another new weapon in rookie goalie Cam Ward, who has shined since assuming the no. 1 job in Game 3 of the first round. The 22-year-old ranks second among all playoff goalies in both goals-against average and save percentage. |
Carolina's run-and-gun style can lead to scoring chances at both ends of the rink. No playoff team allowed more goals in the regular season. The low-scoring Canadiens and Devils couldn't exploit the Hurricanes' defensive shortcomings, but the potent Buffalo offence will present a stiffer challenge. Carolina will also be harder-pressed to keep up its strong special teams play. The Sabres' excellent units will put pressure on the Hurricanes, who finished the regular season ranked in the bottom half in both power-play and penalty-killing efficiency. |
Rod Brind'Amour: Flashy rookie Eric Staal brought some much-needed muscle to the Carolina offence, but Brind'Amour is the team's heart and soul. The Hurricanes captain piled up 70 points in the regular season, his highest total since 1998-99, and led all NHL forwards in ice time. And he was just as strong in the first two rounds of the playoffs, leading the team with six goals. But with so many miles on his odometer, can the 35-year-old Brind'Amour avoid wearing down against the speedy Sabres? |
| Buffalo Sabres |
The Sabres' lineup might be lacking in big names, but it packs a big punch. With a balanced attack featuring nine players who tallied at least 18 goals each, Buffalo was the league's fifth-highest scoring team in the regular season. The Sabres have been even sharper in the post-season, scoring more goals per game than any other team while allowing the fourth-fewest. Buffalo's penalty killing has been superb, too. After finishing second in the regular season in penalty-killing efficiency, the Sabres have burned opponents for a league-high five shorthanded goals in the playoffs. |
Buffalo had the league's third-best power-play success rate in the regular season but has cooled off in the playoffs, ranking 10th among the 16 playoff teams. The free-wheeling Sabres will also have to do a better job of protecting their net. They allowed more regular season shots than any team that advanced to the second round of the playoffs, and they rank in the bottom half in post-season shots against. Injuries could be taking their toll on Buffalo, too. Steady defenceman Dmitri Kalinin will miss the start of the Eastern final with a leg injury and talented forward Tim Connolly is out indefinitely with a concussion. |
Ryan Miller: Over the final four games of Buffalo's second-round win over Ottawa, the rookie goalie posted a sparkling 1.40 goals-against average and .949 save percentage as the Sabres won three more one-goal games, two in overtime, to take the series in five. The performance was no fluke, either. Despite missing 22 regular-season games with a broken thumb, Miller was one of five goalies to finish in the top-12 in wins, save percentage and goals-against average and posted a better save percentage than Martin Brodeur. As he was against the Senators, Miller will have to be on top of his game against the freewheeling Hurricanes. |
STATISTICS
[an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive]Goalie statistics: GP=Games played, W=Wins, L=Losses, GA=Goals against, SV=Saves, SH=Shutouts, SV%=Save percentage, GAA=Goals-against average
Player statistics: GP=Games played, G=Goals, A=Assists, P=Points, +/-=Plus/Minus, PIM=Penalty Minutes, PP= Power-play goals, GW=Game-winning goals
Team statistics: GF=Goals for, GA=Goals against, PP= Power-play efficiency, PK= Penalty-killing efficiency. NB: Team statistics are from the 82-game regular season. Ranking is out of 30 teams.
Trivia
Think you're a Cup expert? Go ahead and test your knowledge of the Stanley Cup final.
Game 7 Galleries
All the excitement, on and off the ice, from Game 7 of the Cup final.
The Instigator
Charlie Teljeur's cartoon skewers the playoffs. If it's happening on the ice, The Instigator will shoot at it.