Carolina vs. Detroit 1:0
Francis delivers for Hurricanes in overtime
DETROIT (AP) -- Ten years after last playing in the Stanley Cup finals, Ron Francis did exactly what he did back then -- beat Dominik Hasek for a game-winning goal.
Francis
Francis knocked in Jeff O'Neill's short pass to the top of the crease 58 seconds into overtime, and the Hurricanes shocked the heavily favored Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in the Stanley Cup finals opener Tuesday night.
Remarkably, it was Carolina's first victory in 13 games in Joe Louis Arena since a game-winning goal by -- yes, him again -- Francis for the then-Hartford Whalers on Nov. 14, 1989.
Francis was playing his first finals game since June 1, 1992, when he scored the game-winner in Pittsburgh's cup-clinching 6-5 victory over Chicago in Game 4 -- with Hasek in net after replacing Ed Belfour earlier in the game.
Still, as big an upset as it was -- Detroit was widely predicted to sweep the series -- Francis said it was only one game for a team that's so big an underdog, coach Paul Maurice playfully calls his players the "mongrels.''
Carolina finished 25 points behind Detroit in the regular season, the largest gap in the finals since the Rangers' 27-point edge over Vancouver in 1994.
"We said all along we believe in ourselves and believe in each other, and believe in our ability to go out there and win hockey games. That's what we're trying to do,'' Francis said. "It's a boost for our confidence, but now it's behind us and we've got to get ready for Game 2.''
Detroit should have known better than to let Carolina go into overtime. The Hurricanes are 7-1 in overtime this postseason, the second most overtime playoff wins in NHL history. Montreal had 10 in 1993. The Red Wings are 1-4 in overtime.
Luc Robitaille, one of the few Red Wings looking for his first Cup, denied they overlooked Carolina after taking out defending champion Colorado convincingly 7-0 in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals Friday.
"It was you guys, we never thought that,'' Robitaille said of the media. "We knew all along that they were a great team. We knew it wasn't going to be easy.''
Maurice didn't try to play up the no-respect angle during his pregame talking, saying, "We knew we were an underdog. No point in making the mountain any bigger than it was.''
O'Neill scored the tying goal late in the second period, then set up the game-winner with a pass from along the right wing boards to Francis, who was inexplicably left unattended in front of the net. Hasek went for the poke check, but Francis lifted the puck over him for his sixth playoff goal, and only his second at even strength.
"The puck came out front and it bounced right back to Jeff O'Neill,'' Francis said. "He made a great pass, and I was able to flip it up over the top of Hasek's pad into the net.''
Francis, probably the most revered player in franchise history, returned to the team four years after it relocated to North Carolina -- after winning two Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh.
"Ronnie Francis was our MVP over the course of the season,'' Maurice said. "The bigger the game, the better Ronnie Francis plays.''
It was the second overtime win in as many games for Carolina, which beat Toronto 2-1 on Martin Gelinas' overtime goal May 28 to win the Eastern Conference finals. Carolina goalie Arturs Irbe is 6-0 in overtime.
"It's been a comfortable position for us through the whole playoffs,'' Carolina forward Erik Cole said. "We haven't changed a thing from period to period. We just take it 20 minutes at a time, refocus, and hopefully somebody will step up for us.''
The Red Wings opened 1-0 and 2-1 leads, but couldn't hold either lead as they went 1-for-7 on the power play. Carolina was 1-of-6.
"We had a chance to win it with the power play,'' said Detroit coach Scotty Bowman, who is seeking a record ninth Stanley Cup title.
Up 1-0 early in the second period and in control, the Red Wings were unwisely drawn into taking two penalties in a span of 37 seconds, one on 41-year-old Igor Larionov, the NHL's oldest player, the other on Kris Draper.
With 83 seconds of two-man advantage to work with it, Carolina tied it at 3:30 when Sean Hill's knuckleball of a one-timer from the upper edge of the left circle eluded Hasek, who shut out Colorado in the final two games of the Western Conference finals.
Detroit regained the lead as Kirk Maltby's hard wrist shot from the right circle sailed by Irbe and inside the far post at 10:39 of the second. It was the sixth goal in eight games by the Red Wings' Grind Line of Maltby, Draper and Darren McCarty -- a checking line that suddenly has become a scoring force.
But, less than a minute from taking a one-goal lead into the third period, O'Neill took former Detroit defenseman Aaron Ward's up-ice pass to flick a short wrister by a sprawled Hasek at 19:10 of the second.
Hasek, sometimes criticized for flopping and falling when it isn't necessary, nudged the puck into his own net with his back.
Despite spending considerable time on the penalty kill, the Hurricanes hardly seemed in awe of their surroundings or their opponent, staying in their tight-checking, 1-2-2 trapping defense to constantly clog up the middle and slow Detroit's speed in the neutral zone.
Detroit, which has nine players older than the 35-year-old Maurice, came into the series with a huge edge in Stanley Cup playoff experience. Nearly half the Red Wings' roster was around for sweeps of Philadelphia in 1997 and Washington in 1998.
Game notes
Each of the Red Wings' last three finals appearances ended in sweeps, as they were swept as a big favorite by New Jersey in 1995. ... Hill's goal was the first scored against Hasek since Game 5 of the Western Conference finals against Colorado. ... Fedorov has five goals and nine points in his last six games against Carolina. ... Detroit has a 24-11 scoring advantage in the first period of the playoffs.
'Canes master the art of closing the deal
By E.J. Hradek
ESPN The Magazine
DETROIT -- The Carolina Hurricanes had the Detroit Red Wings exactly where they wanted them -- in a low-scoring overtime game.
And, they didn't let them slip away.
Afterward, though, the Hurricanes wouldn't place any special significance on their win over the Wings in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals.
Regardless of what Carolina head coach Paul Maurice and his "mongrels" say publicly, this was a huge -- repeat, HUGE -- win for the overtime demons from North Carolina.
The Hurricanes, now 7-1 in playoff overtimes this year, couldn't have asked for a better circumstance, especially after accumulating some rust from a week off and playing in a building in which the franchise hadn't won since 1989.
But, still, with an opportunity to win Game 1, they had to close the deal. If they couldn't, the disappointing result might have proven too much to overcome even for this tight-knit band of believers.
It certainly was for the longshot Capitals in their 1998 Stanley Cup finals series against another powerful Red Wings team. In that series, after losing a tight 2-1 opener, the Caps had a golden opportunity to tie the series in Game 2. But they blew a 4-2 lead in the third period, then lost in overtime on a Kris Draper goal.
For the Caps, it was an opportunity lost, and they were never the same, dropping the final two games meekly on home ice.
Unlike those Capitals, though, the Hurricanes were able to grab their opportunity. And they snatched it quickly Tuesday, when Ron Francis deposited a Jeff O'Neill pass behind Wings goalie Dominik Hasek at 58 seconds of overtime.
With the monster-sized win, the Hurricanes will go back to Carolina for Game 3 with the series tied -- at worst. And, there'll be no more talk of a sweep (unless the surprising 'Canes are using the broom).
Francis, whose low-key, but intense, approach is burned into this franchise, was quick to look forward, rather than to celebrate his OT game-winner.
"We come into every series with the mindset that we're willing to play seven games," Francis said. "And, we try to focus on each game at hand. Our focus and our intention were on Game 1 and obviously for us to win it is a boost for our confidence.
"Now, that's behind us," he continued. "Our focus has to be on Game 2."
And, obviously, the Hurricanes' focus will be on Game 2. But, it will be a lot easier to stay focused knowing they didn't blow a great chance in Game 1.
Frozen Moment: Instant credibility
By Lindsay Berra
ESPN The Magazine
DETROIT -- Fifty-eight seconds.
That's how long it took into overtime of Game 1 for Carolina to make it clear that this is going to be a series with a stunning 3-2 victory.
After the 'Canes dumped the puck into the Detroit zone, Wings veteran defenseman Fredrik Olausson picked up the puck and carried it behind his net, hotly pursued by 'Canes forward Jeff O'Neill.
Then, it happened. Olausson dropped his stick, and O'Neill took off with the puck.
"I tried to hit Sami Kapanen going to the net. Then I got the puck back," O'Neill said. "I think when you see a guy standing in front of the net with as many points as Ron Francis has, you've pretty much got to pass it to him."
O'Neill slipped the puck to Francis, who was parked at the top of the crease.
"Jeff made a great play," Francis said. "It sort of bounced in front of the net and came back to him, and he didn't give up on it."
Francis fired the puck past Detroit goalie Dominik Hasek, sending the Wings to defeat in Game 1.
"They dumped the puck into our end, and O'Neill had the puck, and I tried to poke check it, but it was just so fast," said Hasek. "All of a sudden Francis was alone in front and the puck was in the net. I cannot describe it. The puck hit the side of my body, but it was just so fast."
When the puck finally hit twine, Olausson was still behind the net, fumbling for his stick. Why?
We may never know.
Postgame, when everything had slowed down enough for mental review, Olausson didn't come out from the black-curtained medical section of Detroit's locker room to explain.
For the Hurricanes, Francis' late-game heroics were not unexpected. "Ronnie fills every role a player has to fulfill," said 'Canes defenseman Aaron Ward.
Francis is their saving grace, the glue that holds them all together, their do-it-all guy. He wins faceoffs.
He hits. He always hustles. He runs the locker room. He scores the game-winning goal nobody on the planet expects anyone on his team to score.
"The bigger the game, the better Ronnie Francis plays," said Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice. "In the past four years, we've played so many critical games during the regular season, when we've been in a dogfight to make the playoffs. Ronnie always plays his best when we need it the most."
And Tuesday, with the game on the line in the Stanley Cup finals, he delivered.
"It went off a couple of bodies. It was kind of a pinball play," said Detroit winger Brendan Shanahan.
So much so, Detroit winger Kirk Maltby didn't even see it. "I was just kind of sliding on the bench when it happened," he said. "I didn't see it develop.
"It just happened so fast."
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