The Carolina Hurricanes are two-time Stanley Cup champions, and we'll talk about those victories in due time. However, their first trip to the Stanley Cup Final wasn't nearly as fun. The 2001-02 Hurricanes had played three good series to emerge from the Eastern Conference as the Prince of Wales Trophy winners for the first time in franchise history.
In fact, it was the first time that the Canes had advanced past the opening round after losing in 1999 to Boston and 2001 to New Jersey. Meanwhile, the Detroit Red Wings were a unit. They weren't far removed from back-to-back Cup wins in 1997 and 1998. Their roster was about as loaded as you'd find in league history, winning the Presidents' Trophy by 15 points with 116.
Despite this dominance during the regular season, their path to the Stanley Cup Final wasn't easy. They needed six games to vanquish Vancouver, though they downed the Blues in five. In the Western Conference Finals, they went the distance against the Colorado Avalanche, nearly giving us a different Cup Final. With Detroit as the clear favorite, the Canes had a big fight on their hands.
#25: An iconic win couldn't help Carolina overcome Detroit's juggernaut
The Hurricanes began the 2002 Stanley Cup Final in Detroit on a mission to put some doubt in the minds of the Red Wings and their fans. However, the first goal of the series belonged to the home team. Sergei Fedorov got one on the power play late in the opening period to put the Red Wings up 1-0 after 20 minutes.
The Canes' power play got it back early in the second period, capitalizing on a 5-on-3 after Sean Hill stepped into a one-timer. Kirk Maltby put Detroit back in front midway through the period, but Jeff O'Neill snuck behind the defense in the final minute. His persistence paid off as he buried the tying goal, sending the sides into the third period of a tie game.
Neither team scored in the third, giving the Hurricanes a chance to steal the opening game in overtime. That's exactly what they did. A full minute didn't come off the clock before they stunned the home crowd. O'Neill's work behind the net kept the puck in the offensive zone. Then, he found Ron Francis in front of the net. The captain lifted it home, giving the Canes the first win of the series.
Frankly, the good times would be few and far between the rest of the way. Both teams scored while short-handed in the first period of Game 2. Maltby broke the ice early in the game for Detroit, finishing a 2-on-1 after a Hurricanes player fell. Rod Brind'Amour got it back late in the frame, stealing a pass and forcing Dominik Hasek to guess where he was going to put it.
The 1-1 tie remained for most of the night, but it was Detroit's power play that decided the game. Nicklas Lidstrom's one-timer blew right past Arturs Irbe's glove, giving the Red Wings their lead back. The insurance marker came 13 seconds later. Kris Draper put it in the same spot on a breakaway, extending Detroit's lead and ensuring they would tie the series at a game apiece.
Like in year's past, a long overtime game was the Canes' undoing
Despite their loss in Game 2, the Hurricanes were in a good spot after earning the split in Detroit. Now, it was North Carolina's turn to host the Stanley Cup Final for the first time. They certainly found a way to make it memorable. Along with it being the first game of the series in Raleigh, the Canes made sure to play from in front at home.
Josef Vasicek scored a beautiful goal to get it started. After Martin Gelinas ensured that he'd have space to work, Vasicek dragged the puck around a defender and slid it past Hasek to get the Canes on the board first. Detroit scored the only goal of the second period, with Igor Larionov finishing a shot from the near dot to knot the game at one.
The Canes regained the lead in the third. O'Neill's second goal of the series pushed Carolina ahead, and it felt like they were on their way to a 2-1 series lead. Brett Hull spoiled the party. With 1:14 left, Hull redirected Lidstrom's shot, silencing the crowd and giving us our second overtime game of the Cup Final. This one wouldn't end anytime soon.
What followed was one of the longest games in Stanley Cup Final history. Unfortunately, the Canes were on the wrong side of it. Larionov's backhanded goal came at 14:47 of the third overtime, marking the third-longest game in a Cup Final, just 26 seconds shy of the record. It was a devastating loss for Carolina, and it might've ended the series.
Carolina's offense had no answer for Hasek in Game 4. They threw 17 shots at the net, and none of them crossed the line. Meanwhile, Hull got the Red Wings on the board in the second period by sneaking behind the defense and finishing a 2-on-1. Larionov and Brendan Shanahan added insurance goals in the third, putting Detroit one win away with a 3-0 shutout victory.
In front of their fans and with the Cup in the building, Detroit finished the job. Tomas Holmstrom opened the scoring in the second period. Shanahan scored what stood as the series-clinching goal on the power play. O'Neill got one back on the power play with 1:10 left in the second, but Shanahan's goal into the empty net finished the job. For the third time in six years, Detroit was on top of the world.
The Hurricanes left it all on the line during their first long postseason run, but they clearly ran out of juice at the end. They were held to seven goals in five games, three of which belonged to Jeff O'Neill. After scoring three times in Game 1, they had just four goals the rest of the way. It left Arturs Irbe (.919 SV%, 2.20 GAA) in an impossible spot.
I emphasized Game 3's importance because it felt like several other series that we've talked about have hinged on an overtime loss being the biggest momentum swinger. Game 5 against Boston in 1999. Games 2 and 3 against New York in 2024. There's another series that we'll talk about on Sunday that featured this as well. We've also seen that work in the Canes' favor.
So, why does this loss rank so high if it ended so quickly? First, they made it to the Stanley Cup Final, so that's a big deal. Second, it's hardly their fault that they faced one of the best and most-loaded teams in NHL history. They won the first game of the series, and there's a world where they win Game 3 and make it more interesting. Still, there's one series loss that I rank ahead of this one.
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