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Carolina in uncharted territory

HURRICANES 2, LEAFS 1 (OT): Its first Stanley Cup final awaits after Martin Gelinas' winner.

©Associated Press
May 29, 2002

TORONTO -- When the crowd fell silent, Martin Gelinas knew he had scored the biggest goal of his career, sending the Hurricanes to their first Stanley Cup final.

Deflecting Josef Vasicek's hard centering pass into the net 8:05 into overtime, Gelinas lifted Carolina to a 2-1 win Tuesday over Toronto, clinching the Eastern Conference final in six games.

"I saw it go in, but I had to double-look to make sure," Gelinas said. "But when I saw everybody jumping on the ice, and the building got a little silent, I knew."

It was a fitting goal, coming from a grinder who symbolizes the determined effort the Hurricanes have showed all postseason.

"Rightfully so, at the end of the day," Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice said. "It was appropriate that one of those guys scores that goal. ... It's never the guys that you think. It's appropriate for Marty. He's worked so hard. He deserves a little sunshine."

Jeff O'Neill also scored and Arturs Irbe stopped 35 shots for Carolina, which improved to 6-1 in overtime this postseason.

The game was eerily similar to Game 2 when Carolina won by the same score in overtime after Toronto's Alyn McCauley scored in the waning seconds of regulation.

This time Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin provided his team brief hope, tying the score with 21.8 seconds left.

Carolina will open the final on the road. Defending champion Colorado leads Detroit 3-2 in the West.

The Hurricanes beat the Maple Leafs all three times in Toronto and have won all three series in six games, with each clincher coming on the road. It was the fourth game of the series that ended 2-1.

The teams set a playoff record for fewest goals in a six-game series. The series had 16 goals, eclipsing the mark of 20, which the Hurricanes matched in the first round against New Jersey.

The Hurricanes, who moved to Raleigh, N.C., from Hartford, Conn., after the 1996-97 season, will be the 28th franchise to play for the Stanley Cup since 1918. Not bad for a franchise that had gone 21 years without winning a best-of-seven series.

"It seemed like forever. And now it seems like just a short trip. Things work that way," Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos Jr. said. "It's been a great team all year. They've fought adversity all year and they've always done very well."

The Maple Leafs finally ran out of gas after avoiding elimination four times this postseason, including Saturday's 1-0 win at Carolina.

Toronto, which won last won the Cup in 1967, has gone 35 years since reaching the final, the longest stretch in the league.

"It's the hardest championship to win in sports. And I don't think the stars exactly lined up for us this year," Toronto goalie Curtis Joseph said. "A big credit to our team. We were hard to put out, and we were very resilient. I was proud of a lot of guys in here."

Joseph He had no chance on O'Neill's goal, which came with 9:36 left.

Stripping Tomas Kaberle of the puck inside the Toronto blue line, O'Neill drove to the net. Joseph made the initial stop, but couldn't control the rebound, which O'Neill slapped into the open net.

The Maple Leafs countered when Sundin tapped in a loose puck during a scramble in front to force overtime as the Air Canada Centre crowd went wild.

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