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Rewind: Revisiting the 2001-2002 Carolina Hurricanes

By Jeb Bohn

30 Nov 2001: Center Rod Brind''Amour #17 of the Carolina Hurricanes skates on the ice during the NHL game against the Washington Capitals at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C. The Capitals defeated the Hurricanes 6-2. Mandatory copyright notice: Copyright 2001 NHLI Mandatory Credit: Doug Pensinger /NHLI/Getty Images
30 Nov 2001: Center Rod Brind''Amour #17 of the Carolina Hurricanes skates on the ice during the NHL game against the Washington Capitals at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C. The Capitals defeated the Hurricanes 6-2. Mandatory copyright notice: Copyright 2001 NHLI Mandatory Credit: Doug Pensinger /NHLI/Getty Images /
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2002 Eastern Conference Finals
RALEIGH, NC – MAY 25: Defenseman Glen Wesley #2 and left wing Bates Battaglia #13 of the Carolina Hurricanes stand on the ice for the national anthems before game five of the Eastern Conference finals in the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Raleigh Sports Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina on May 25, 2002. The Maple Leafs won 1-0. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images/NHLI) /

Round Three

This series started out in the opposite manner of the Montreal series before it, with the Hurricanes dropping Game One at home.  Games two and three both went to overtime and both games saw the Hurricanes pick up victories.

Game four was an anomaly in this series, being the lone game not to be decided by a single goal.  Jaroslav Svoboda, Sami Kapanen, and Ron Francis each picked up a goal while Arturs Irbe turned aside all 31 Toronto shots.

Game five was a goaltending duel, eventually won by Toronto’s Curtis Joseph, with Darcy Tucker picking up the only goal of the game.  The series stood three games to two in favor of Carolina, but the Maple Leafs were headed home to a packed Air Canada Center.

The sixth and final game was another netminding showdown for 50 minutes with Irbe and Joseph trading saves.  It was the Hurricanes who broke through first as Jeff O’Neill finally bested Toronto’s goaltender.  Carolina held on to their one-goal lead for just over ten minutes and seemed destined to finish the game in regulation.

Mats Sundin, Toronto’s star player and captain, dashed those hopes with under a minute left.  The crowd erupted, the Leafs had new life, and the Hurricanes looked flat.  Carolina, who had already played six overtime games in the postseason (winning 5), regrouped and resumed their attack as the extra period started.

Joseph held his ground early, keeping Toronto alive as long as he could.  The trouble was the tenacious forechecking that the Hurricanes threw at him.  Then, as the clock ticked down under twelve minutes remaining, Martin Gelinas glided through the top of the crease and tapped home a pass from Josef Vasicek.

As a fan since the Greensboro days, it was surreal.  It sent a shock through the NHL, this upstart team in a “non-traditional market” had eliminated two Original Six teams and was now set for a trip to the Finals and a battle for the greatest trophy in professional sports.

Don’t take my word for it, just listen to Steve Levy’s call for ESPN:

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