The last time I attempted to rank Hurricanes playoff games by their noteworthiness, it was the morning after a different last-second goal against the Devils — Eric Staal's goal to send Game 2 of the 2006 Eastern Conference semifinals to overtime.
Here we are, three Game 7s, a Stanley Cup and almost three years later, and we've got another classic finish against the Devils to consider. I reserve the right to change this list when I've had more sleep, but here's how it stands now, with the original 2006 comments on the holdovers:
1. Game 7, 2006 Stanley Cup finals. There wasn't any dramatic comeback or last-second goal, just a classic hockey game with the Cup hanging in the balance. Every fan stood the whole way, and it was as tense as it gets once the Oilers got as close as 2-1 in the third period. But Cam Ward stopped Fernando Pisani, who scored on every other shot he took, from point-blank range and we all know what happened next.
2. Game 4, 2002 Eastern Conference semifinals. "The Miracle in Molson. No explanation necessary. Still the single greatest, most dramatic sporting event I've ever witnessed in person — and that includes the Panthers-Patriots Super Bowl." (I guess, if pressed, I'd still say that, but how can you not put a Cup-winning Game 7 atop the list?)
3. Game 7, 2009 Eastern Conference quarterfinals. There's really not much that separates No. 2 and No. 3 on this list, and you could argue this is more impressive given the time frame and the opponent (Martin Brodeur, on home ice, in a Game 7, on a night the Canes were more or less outplayed, giving up not only one but two goals in a 48-second span with less than two minutes to play? Inconceivable.) But Montreal's collapse in the Miracle, which took place almost in slow motion, was so complete that Jose Theodore's career still hasn't recovered.
4. Game 3, 2002 Stanley Cup finals. "With a list of the 10 longest finals games in my hands, I sat between Hall of Famer writers Red Fisher and Jim Matheson as we checked each game off the list — 10, 9, 8 and so on, as the Hurricanes and Red Wings kept going — and they recounted the ending of each of those games. If you're one of the lucky few to have all three OTs on tape, watch that and tell me you STILL don't think that game is going to end in the second OT. There's no way."
5 (tie). Game 7, 2006 Eastern Conference finals; Game 1, 2006 Stanley Cup finals. OK, so it's a cop-out to pick two here, but how do you separate them? In consecutive games, Rod Brind'Amour played a key role in two stunning third-period comebacks — scoring the game-winner against the Sabres in Game 7 of the conference finals and then collecting Ty Conklin's mistake to win Game 1 of the finals in a game the Oilers appeared to have in the bag.
Luke has worked for The N&O since 2000. He covered the Carolina Hurricanes and the NHL before becoming a sports columnist in August 2008. A native of Evanston, Ill., he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. He can be reached at 829-8947 or 
Comments
You're gonna need a bigger list.
Thu, 04/30/2009 - 11:44 — canesmojoI agree with every choice you've made, but how can you narrow it down to just 5 games? You could pick out five games just from the games against the Devils over the years. Who could forget Kevin Weekes, down and out, stoning Madden from point blank range twice? Or hearing the immortal words: "Martin Brodeur has had enough" in Game 1 of the 2006 East Semifinal. (Not a nail biter by any means, but the drama of every guy in red making a superhuman effort to preserve Ward's shutout made up for it.) And of course, even though we got blown out Game 6 of the East quarters in 2001 that someone else already mentioned. Memories seem to vary widely on the duration of that standing O, but everybody agrees on the intensity level. And I still believe that the run to the finals in 2002 began that day.
But it'd be hard to ignore Game 6 of the 2002 conference finals too. Or any game of that series for that matter. We were at a local pub-with-a-big-screen for the game, but based on the bleeding eardrums as the final seconds ticked off, you could have convinced most people there that we were actually at the ESA. I know my hearing took about the same amount of time to recover.
Game 1 of the 2002 Stanley Cup final might have to be on the list too. It didn't lead anywhere, but winning a game at the Joe in a Cup Final? It legitimized us in a way. We got their attention, and they weren't laughing anymore. Sure we went on to get brushed aside by a $65M dream team, but all of a sudden they were forced to take us seriously.
And don't forget to save some room on the list for the games we've yet to play this year. 'Cause we aren't done by half yet. And if history is any indication, there will be plenty more memorable games before we are.
Best Games
Thu, 04/30/2009 - 08:28 — GSOBadgerLuke,
I can't disagree with any of your choices, and yet ...
How about Game 5 vs. Buffalo in 2006. Must win game at home, trailed 3-1 after two. Battled back to tie, then Stiller with the OT goal after jumping off the bench when Staal broke his stick. Incredibly loud.
Or the O'Neal black eye game vs. Toronto in 2002. Scoring the winning goal with one eye completely swollen shut. Or the "secret weapon's" second OT winner in that series. Or Gellina's series winner exorcising the demons of that open net miss vs. Boston. Or how about that game vs. the Bruins, even if we did lose?
Then there's Game 3 vs. Montreal in 2006 - the Habs apparently on their way to a 1-0 win and a shocking 3-0 series lead. Cam on fire keeping us in the game, and then the Captain WILLING his way to the tying goal, with Staal's game winner in OT.
Just goes to show how incredibly many amazing games we've had in our short playoff history. But I also remember two other moments, not necessarily great games, but... the first playoff game ever vs. Boston when the team hit the ice the fans were twirling their towels so hard that the lint made it look like the arena was filled with fog. And of course, 2001 Game 6 vs. the Devils, the first REAL sellout I ever saw in Raleigh, not an empty seat in the house, and every last one of us joining that incredible spontaneous 2 minute standing ovation - so loud that yelling at the top of my lungs I couldn't hear myself, and Brindy, last off the ice, alone pausing to salute the crowd. I'll always believe that was the moment he decided this wasn't that bad a place to play hockey - he re-signed that summer and the rest is history.
Man, what great memories - here's to many more!
Game 4, 2001 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
Wed, 04/29/2009 - 12:11 — tecampbellYep - 2001 - if you look it up, it will only say "Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 2–4 (Devils)", and Game 4 was probably only memorable if you were there, and really memorable if you were at Game 3. Game 3 was the "throw down", so many fights and penalties I'd bet the 'Canes could barely put two lines on the ice by the end of the third period.
But Game 4 - aaahhhh, that was real hockey. And yes, it went to overtime. And the game winner is forever burned into my brain: Sami Kapanen gains the zone, he pulls back to shoot - but no! he pauses! Instead, he passes to Brindy, streaking in from the point! Brindy Scores! Revenge! Redemption! A rivalry born for the ages.
And why didn't Sami shoot? There was a puddle of water left on the ice from the Zamboni! Mysteries too complex for mere mortals to solve...
I have always said that that
Thu, 04/30/2009 - 20:55 — atrioneI have always said that that game was the beginning of the Caniac Nation. If we don't win that game, we don't go to New Jersey and win game 5 and we don't have the longest ovation I've ever been part of at the end of game 6. I'm also convinced that ovation was one of the reasons Brind'Amour re-signed after the season. And where would any of the other games be without him?
That was a big one
Fri, 05/01/2009 - 09:48 — ldecock (author)It should be pretty clear from my column today how I feel about what that game has meant to the Hurricanes franchise. I've written about it before, just about every time I've written about the growth of the fan base, because it was such a critical moment.
Here's my original game story from the N&O of April 19, 2001:
RALEIGH -- It took a puddle for the Carolina Hurricanes to make a splash in the playoffs.
The ice had been newly resurfaced for overtime and despite its glassy sheen there were many spots where water remained on the surface, unfrozen.
One of those spots was just inside the New Jersey Devils' blue line.
That's where the puck skidded to a halt, forcing Sami Kapanen to pause before shooting. That pause made all the difference.
As Kapanen wound up, Rod Brind'Amour charged toward the net, his stick extended.
Brind'Amour reached out and deflected Kapanen's shot through Devils goalie Martin Brodeur's legs, giving the Canes the game-winner 46 seconds into overtime Wednesday and a 3-2 win over the Devils in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series.
"First I thought he was just going to shoot it, and I wouldn't have been there in time," Brind'Amour said. "But he kind of held up, and I thought I could get there if I could get a little burst in there, and he just laid it on the tape."
Strategy? Tactics? No. Moisture.
"I was trying to take a shot, but what happened was it was early in the period, and the puck stopped a little bit in the water," Kapanen said. "I had to take my shot back, and I had a little more time. I looked, and I saw Roddie heading for the net."
And the rest is history, at least for this franchise.
As the Canes piled off the bench to swarm over Brind'Amour and Kapanen, they displayed a joy that had been utterly absent in the first three games of the playoff series, all New Jersey wins.
Now, they go back to New Jersey for Game 5 with a scant measure of hope and heaping handfuls of pride.
"It didn't come easy," goalie Arturs Irbe said. "We got rattled a couple of times, but we always gave hit for hit and stood up and didn't want to back down."
The Canes came out with real fight, not the literal kind on display Tuesday.
There was no Scott Stevens subtext - Stevens only had one big hit, and Kapanen saw it coming and was able to give as good as he got - and the cheap stuff that characterized Tuesday's loss was absent as well.
Instead, it was playoff hockey at its best: Intense, skilled and with an overtime game-winner.
For the first time in the series, the Canes scored first. Kapanen tapped in the rebound of a Brind'Amour shot to end Martin Brodeur's shutout streak at 130:33 and give Carolina its first lead of the series at the 2:00 mark.
The Devils' Jason Arnott tied it up later in the first, but David Tanabe put the Canes back in the lead on a four-on-three power play in the second.
The Canes were on another power play in the third when that old bugaboo, short-handed goals, crept up on them again.
Carolina gave up an NHL-high 16 in the regular season and after Brodeur pushed away a Brind'Amour wrap-around, Petr Sykora's long wrist shot at the other end through two defensemen beat Irbe to make it 2-2 with 10:29 to play.
Brodeur made two big saves to send the game to overtime, where it didn't take long for Kapanen and Brind'Amour to spark the celebration.
"We said, 'Let's play our system, but let's try to win the hockey game. Let's go out there and go for it,' " Jeff O'Neill said. "We did. Sami made a great play, and it was a great deflection."
The Canes know they're a long way from being back in the series. But they also know a lot of people wrote them off after Tuesday - not only because they were behind 3-0, but because of the way they got there.
Wednesday provided some measure of vindication that the Canes not only belonged in the playoffs but that they could beat the best the NHL had to offer.
"Whenever a team's down 3-0, nobody gives you a chance and rightfully so," O'Neill said. "Not a lot of teams come back to win that game. Friday's a big one. If we win that one, it can get interesting."
It got interesting Wednesday, if only because Brind'Amour and Kapanen proved the Canes have the capability to make a series out of it.
They may be too late to turn the series around, but for one night it wasn't too late to show their fans there was still something left to celebrate this season.
Top Canes Goals
Wed, 04/29/2009 - 10:14 — ThatMakesSenseLuke, would love to see you rank the best Canes goals in history. Last week's winner with .02 has to be #1.
#3 typo?
Wed, 04/29/2009 - 07:54 — mikemilrI assume you meant for #3 2009 Eastern Conf quarters.
I think I heard Chuck's description that last night's game was one of the most amazing games he has ever seen.
I must have had 2006 on the
Wed, 04/29/2009 - 11:41 — ldecock (author)I must have had 2006 on the brain writing that.