The Background
Going into the 2002 Stanley Cup Final, many felt the Carolina Hurricanes were lucky to be there. Their 91 points were good enough to win the worst division in the league by six points, but they were the seventh-best team in the Eastern Conference by that metric. They had fewer points than the Edmonton Oilers, who missed the playoffs out west.
The 2001-02 Hurricanes were one of the most successful teams in franchise history. They finished two points behind the 1986-87 Adams Division-winning Whalers for the most in franchise history. A lot of their points came from their league-leading 16 ties. The division title allowed the Hurricanes to earn their third straight trip to the postseason after losing in the conference quarterfinals during their previous two trips.
In the finals, the team across from them was one of the most impressive collections of players in NHL history. Led by the winningest coach in NHL history, the Red Wings had a veteran-led core that had been terrorizing the league for years. Over the last six seasons, Detroit had been to at least the conference finals four times, including back-to-back Stanley Cup victories in 1997 and 1998.
Detroit dominated the regular season, winning 51 games en route to a 116-point President's Trophy-winning season, scoring 15 more points than the closest team. Former Whaler Brendan Shanahan paced the Red Wings with 37 goals and 75 points, making him one of four players on the team to score 30 goals. The Red Wings were the best of both worlds, finishing with the second-most goals and the third-fewest goals allowed with the help of Dominik Hasek.