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Carolina takes first step

'CANES 3, WINGS 2 (OT): Ron Francis gets the winner 58 seconds into extra period.

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published June 5, 2002

DETROIT -- So there were the Hurricanes, surrounded by reporters in their locker room at Joe Louis Arena, trying desperately not to sound giddy over their good fortune.

Carolina beat the mighty Red Wings 3-2 in overtime Tuesday night in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final. And while the temptation must have been great to say, "I told you so," the players spoke in even, measured tones.

Kind of like how they play the game.

"We talk about it before every series, that we come in with the mind-set we're willing to play seven games," said Hurricanes captain Ron Francis, who got the winner 58 seconds into the extra period. "But we focus on each game at hand.

"For us to win now is a boost for our confidence, but that is behind us. We have to get ready for Game 2."

The Hurricanes, who had not won in Detroit since November 1989 (0-11-0-1), want that to be a carbon copy of Game1, which was a carbon copy of many of their 19 playoff games: full of tight positional play, solid defense, terrific goaltending and opportune goals.

"They played well," Red Wings goaltender Dominik Hasek said. "I don't know what I can say.

"They covered the ice really well and didn't give us a lot of chances. They had their chances and they scored."

And they have officially put to bed any doubts as to whether they should be in the final.

That Carolina finished the regular season 25 points behind Detroit's 116, and is the first 16th-ranked team to get this far, has finally become an afterthought.

"We watched them through the playoffs," center Kris Draper said. "They're a very disciplined team."

They showed it by killing off 6 of 7 short-handed situations, including a two-minute hooking penalty on Erik Cole with 1:41 remaining in regulation.

They showed it by coming back from deficits of 1-0 and 2-1, with Jeff O'Neill scoring on a breakaway with 50 seconds left in the second period to tie the score at 2.

The right wing also made the pass to Francis for the winner that pushed the Hurricanes' record in overtime to 7-1.

As always, there was goalie Arturs Irbe, who made 23 saves to improve his overtime record to 6-0.

Then there were the Red Wings. Give the Hurricanes credit, but Detroit players said they contributed to their downfall.

Hasek did not know how to explain his attempt to cover the puck after getting most of O'Neill's breakaway shot; he nudged it into the net as he tried to cover it by lying down on his back.

Giving up a breakaway at that stage is a team breakdown, as was not capitalizing on the late power play.

"We could have played better as a team," said center Sergei Fedorov, who got Detroit's first goal, on the power play, 15:21 into the first. "They played steady defense and moved the puck out of their zone quickly. We could not get anything going."

Carolina got going thanks to a five-on-three situation, with Igor Larionov and Draper in the penalty box, that led to Sean Hill's fourth power-play goal of the playoffs and a tie at 1 at 3:30 of the second.

It was the first goal Hasek allowed in 143:30, going back to Peter Forsberg's overtime goal in Game 5 of the West final against the Avalanche.

Kirk Maltby gave Detroit a 2-1 second-period lead with a low wrist shot that beat Irbe low to the stick side.

Then it was up to the mongrels. That is the affectionate name Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice gave his players to poke fun at their constant underdog status.

"I was just having some fun," Maurice said of the nickname. "We've got a good bunch of players playing a committed game to each other."

"Certainly," Francis said, "this feels good."

You can certainly understand why he had a smile on his face.

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