25 Clutch Goals in Carolina Hurricanes History (Part 2: #15-6)
By Ben Huffman
#11: April 24, 2002- Jeff O’Neill Sets Up “The Save”
For longtime Canes fans, “The Save” against New Jersey by Kevin Weekes is the most iconic in franchise history. The reality is that saving almost never happened. After Bobby Holik and Martin Gelinas traded goals in the second period, Patrik Elias gave the Devils the lead on the power play with 8:14 left in the game. A late charging penalty by Holik would give the Canes their chance on the power play, and it took 21 seconds for Jeff O’Neill to tie things up again, forcing overtime in a game that would determine who controlled the momentum in the series. Of course, we’d get Weekes’ acrobatic save on John Madden to keep the game tied and Josef Vasicek’s game-winner a few minutes later to push the Canes ahead 3-2 in the series. Often, we’re so focused on the miraculous nature of the save that we don’t remember the goal that led to it. Without O’Neill’s goal, none of that is possible. The Canes would ride this momentum to a 1-0 win in Game 6 to finish the series, giving them their first series victory in North Carolina.
#10: April 28, 2009- The Tremor Before The Shock
I don’t want to give too much away, but this is the first of two goals from “The Shock at the Rock” in 2009. That game’s legacy doesn’t happen without Jussi Jokinen finding another way to haunt the New Jersey Devils. We’ve already talked about his buzzer-beater, and here he is, once again, getting the job done. With time winding down in Game 7, the Canes were throwing everything at Martin Brodeur. Trailing 3-2, it was getting close to the end of the line. The play begins with Tim Gleason going all out to keep the puck in the zone. He slides it over to Joni Pitkanen, who finds Jussi Jokinen alone at the side of the net to beat Martin Brodeur again and tie the game with 1:20 left. Gleason’s part in this goal is always what I’ll remember about this play. He gives it his all to ensure the puck stays in the zone, allowing the goal to materialize from an earlier iteration of the “Finnish Connection.” The rest will go down in history, but we’ll discuss that later.