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Hurricanes 3, Penguins 2 (OT)

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RALEIGH — The Carolina Hurricanes are back in the playoffs for the first time in three years.

Carolina defenseman Anton Babchuk fired the winning at 1:11 into overtime as the red-hot Hurricanes beat the red-hot Pittsburgh Penguins at the RBC Center.

It's the Hurricanes' eighth win in a row, a season high, and their 11th straight home win, a franchise high.

The Hurricanes weren't able to score on the power play to close out the game, but they started the overtime period with a vengeance and created a number of chances that missed narrowly.

Eric Staal's wraparound went wide but Ray Whitney got the puck and passed up to defenseman Tim Gleason on the left circle. Gleason passed accross to Babchuk, who fired in the winner.

Babchuk has 10 goals and 15 points in the last 20 games for the Hurricanes. Babchuk has season highs for goals (14), assists (14) and points (28). Babchuk, 24, played in parts of four NHL seasons since the 2003-04 season.

The Hurricanes wouldn't have gotten to overtime if it weren't for goalie Cam Ward, who had 33 saves, including several big ones, not to mention Evgeni Malkin's penalty shot at 11:43 in the third period.

The Hurricanes shut down Pittsburgh star Sidney Crosby, who had a 12-game scoring streak. Crosby managed five shots. ...

***

At 3:34 in the third period, Pittsburgh's Jordan Staal tied the game from the left circle on Tyler Kennedy's pass from the left corner. ...

With just over a minute left in the second, Canes goalie Cam Ward gloved Bill Guerin's high shot. The Penguins lead in shots 27-23 at the end of the second period. ...

Bill Guerin's shot that found net was negated by Chris Kunitz' tripping penalty at 9:53 in the second period. ...

Canes forward Chad LaRose breaks the tie early in the second period, firing from the left circle on a pass from Jussi Jokinen.

Ray Whitney earned the secondary assist by picking off Matt Cooke's wobbly pass to Evgeni Malki.

LaRose now has three goals in the last two games. ...

Hurricanes center Eric Staal ties the game at 13:25 in the first period.

Staal was there in front of the net for Erik Cole's pass from behind the net. Staal slipped the pass to the right of Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.

It was Cole's first point in six games. Tuomo Ruutu also earned an assist on the play. ...

Just under the nine-minute mark, Cam Ward shuts down Penguins star center Sidney Crosby on a breakaway. ...

Pittsburgh center Tyler Kennedy skates in front of the crease and back-hands the puck past Hurricanes netminder Cam Ward at 3:48 in the first period.

Wing Ruslan Fedotenko and defenseman Rob Scuderi earn assists on the play. ...

The Canes' lines in pregame:

Ruutu-Staal-Cole

LaRose-Jokinen-Whitney

Walker-Brind'Amour-Samsonov

Conboy-Helminen-Bayda

Scratches: Cullen, Eaves, Kaberle.

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Cam Ward

I know this probably won't happen, but this kid needs to be in the Vezina conversation. Ranked #3 in wins and inside the top 10 in GAA and SV%. Tim Thomas from the Bruins will probably win the award and rightfully so. But I really think Ward should be a finalist. Last night's game should erase any doubt in anyone's mind that this kid is the REAL DEAL. Someone last week debated with me about Ward's stats making him a top 10 goalie. At the time Ward's stats in GAA and SV% were not in the top 10 (I still thought his play ranked him up there) and this person kept harping on shootout stats. I thought some more about this, and came to this conclusion: THERE IS NO SHOOTOUT IN THE PLAYOFFS!!!

We are the hottest team, with the hottest goalie, in the east. Let's go CANES!!!

A great Win !!

for the entire team !! As many of the players have said repeatedly, "If we stick to the basics, we will play our game"! And the Canes most certainly did. Ward did a great job, as the defence allowed and helped him do his job. As Tripp pointed out at the end of game summary, Ward is focused and instead of trying to anticipate, he is waiting for the shooter to make his move. That is why the break away by Crosby failed, as well as the penalty shot did as well. i had to laugh though, as Chad LaRose did make it to the sin bin but compared to what and how he used to play, he has matured, and gotten better as time and the last 2 seasons have progressed.
Add in the Anton Babchuk factor...The Canes have turned things around. Even our 4th line was checking and back checking and trying to help keep the pens bottled up between the blue lines. An over all great game & win for the Canes !! Now how does the NHL figure out whether the Canes get Home ice or not, I am having a " senior" moment in trying to figure that one out.

Go Canes !!

Beat out Philly and get the

Beat out Philly and get the 4th seed and we get home ice advantge.  That very well may happen with them not capitalizing on all those games in hand they had before. 

Words Can't describe....

I'm so happy that the Canes are back in the playoffs...I'm not shocked that they are...I always believed they could do it....All I have to say is this: DO NOT LET ANTON BABCHUK GO....what a star he's become.... As I have stated many times on here before I live in Newfoundland and the chances of me seeing a Canes game on tv let alone attending a game are few and far between but i always support them and cheer them on in good times and in bad.. To anyone planning to attend the canes playoff games...grab a towel, write my name on it and swing it like its nobody's business...LOL...cause i might not be there in person but i sure am in mind and spirit... Congrats to not only the coaching staff and players but to the fans as well....we've all been a huge part of the canes. success...we should all give ourselves a big round of applause...

I think I was wrong?

Chip asked the question about 2 months ago: what does it take to get to the playoffs?

I said: better special teams.

But I think the answer was: outstanding goaltending. Or maybe solid offensive lines that have gelled.

Yeah, our PP is a bit better, and PK looks good, but Ward-O is lights out. Sitting up in 318, we had some really good looks at Ward tonight. The kid is dynamite!

OH! And there are now some faint - but growing - cheers for Coach Mo. Wow!

So three prodigals are back, making an impact: Mo, Babs and Colesy. I NEVER would have imagined this scenario last October. Not even in my wildest dreams! Combine this new chemistry with Ward-O's play, and the sky is the limit.

Go Canes! Go for home ice!

Katy bar the door......

The whole squad is stepping it up, getting wins and takin' names all at the right time! They've played some of the best hockey i've seen yet. Show the clip to Ovechkin, that's how you celebrate: as a team.

TIME TO BREAK OUT THE TOWELS!!!!!!!

Oh My Goodness

This old gal almost had a heart attack! Just got home from the game and still "over-heated"! What a great game. LOTS of PITT fans there. The game was a nail biter from start to finish. What a great win. Love the crowd and they did make noise. Can't wait for what comes next. Go you beautiful Canes!

ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC

Short of 2006 Game 7 vs Edmonton (and NOT by much, either), this was the most intense game I've ever been to.

2 years ago, I'd have never for a moment believed that Anton Babchuk would become the player he has become, because back then he just wouldn't (or maybe wasn't allowed to) take those laser beam shots. Now? Deadly.

3 years ago, I started jumping on the Chad LaRose bandwagon. The hustle he showed from day 1 made him a favorite. This year, he's shown he's MVP stuff.

Ward-O is fulfilling his promise. Ward-O got us two points tonite. Without Cam, this game doesn't go to OT. An amazing transformation.

Fish gotta swim
Penguin's CANNOT fly
Tonight in Raleigh
The NHL saw why

Believe...

H O L Y C R A P !
We are IN!!! I'm still in shock-I don't know what else to say!!!

What a game by the entire TEAM, but Wardo was THE MAN!!!

Congrats to the hottest team in the NHL. Congrats to the rabid Caniacs that stood by this team the last few years!!!

I doubt we'll here from the negative naysayers for a while now!!!

19 more wins to go baby!!!

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About the blogger

A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at chip.alexander@newsobserver.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @ice_chip.
HURRICANES SCOREBOARD

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