And Then There Were Three

In the first minute and 36 seconds, I can honestly say that I felt like a genius. Eric Staal scored on a wrap-around beating Fleury and giving the 'Canes an early lead. If you read an earlier post of mine, "Where's the Heart 'Canes?," you might recall that I predicted Staal would light the lamp.

A friend of mine before the series made an over/under bet with me regarding the number of points Eric Cole (who went the whole playoffs without a goal) and Rod Brind'Amour (who has found himself playing very limited minutes) would tally in the series. He said the number was three, and I, being the optimistic fan that I am, went with the over- meaning they would have to combine for four points.

Sure enough on Staal's goal, Eric Cole was given an assist, giving him and Brind'Amour a combined four assists for the series. So obviously at that point, I was feeling pretty good.

But of course the Penguins would storm back. Goals by Ruslan Fedotenko and Max Talbot sent the teams to the locker room with a 2-1 lead for Pittsburgh.

From there, it is appropriate to call the rest of the game, "The Marc-Andre Fleury Show." The 'Canes had tons of chances to score and tie the game up but just couldn't get past Fleury.

Then veteran Bill Guerin would deliver the goal that ended just about all hope of a comeback. An empty netter by former 'Cane Craig Adams would add insult to injury with just over a minute left.

The Penguins would go on to take the Prince of Whales Trophy for winning the Eastern Conference, and are ready to face most likely the Red Wings, who lead the series 3-1, but never count out a young and talented Blackhawks squad.

As for the Hurricanes, in the words of Leon of Cleveland's WEWS, "That's the way it goes sometimes. As dad always said, 'we'll get them next year.'"