@FlameRaptorRaven

2mo

Stanley Cup Heroes, Part 5: Avoiding a Disaster

The Carolina Hurricanes entered the 2006 playoffs as one of the favourites to win the Cup. Carolina had exceeded all expectations. They finished 2nd in the Eastern Conference and 4th in the entire NHL. It was the best team in Hurricanes history. They were expected to easily dispatch the Montreal Canadiens in round 1 and at least make it to the conference finals. This had to be the year. After the first 2 games, the Canadiens had a 2-0 series lead. The Habs won game 1 6-1 and game 2 6-5 in overtime. All of a sudden, the Hurricanes were on death row. Nobody had made a 3-0 series comeback in decades. If they lost game 3, they were surely cooked. Head coach Peter Laviolette decided to make a drastic change. Throughout the regular season, Martin Gerber had been Carolina’s starter. After giving up 6 goals in back-to-back games, Laviolette turned to their backup, a 22-year-old rookie, named Cam Ward. Carolina’s 1st round pick back in 2002, he had a grand total of 28 NHL games under his belt at this point; and those games hadn’t been good. Understandable considering he is a rookie. Now he is trusted to save a team’s season. No pressure kid. What did he do in game 3? He stopped 27 of 28 shots and helped Carolina win in overtime. With renewed confidence, the Hurricanes won 3 straight and sealed up the series in game 6. Ward allowed just 4 goals in those 3 wins. He was their guy. In round 2 they faced the Devils. Ward would go against his idol, Martin Brodeur. What did he do this time? Get a shutout in game 1. Other than a struggle-fest in game 4, Ward continued to be brilliant. Once again allowing 2 or less goals in each win. Now in the conference finals, the Hurricanes had their toughest challenge, the dynamic Buffalo Sabres. Ngl, Ward was far from flawless. He was even replaced by Gerber for games 4 and 5. Gerber faltered in game 5 and Ward was tossed back in. In games 5, 6 and 7, Ward came through again and the Hurricanes won the series in 7. Setting up a Cup Final with the Oilers. The Hurricanes won a rollercoaster game 1 5-4 and then Ward got his 2nd shutout with a 5-0 win in game 2. Ward only allowed 3 goals in the next 2 games and set up Carolina with a 3-1 lead in the series. Unfortunately, disaster nearly struck again. Edmonton won games 5 and 6, scoring 4 in each one. Who would Laviolette trust for game 7? Laviolette chose Ward. He rewarded that faith with one last brilliant performance. Besides a crazy sequence where he was nearly ran over, Ward was essentially flawless. This includes a crazy save in the final minutes of the 3rd where he prevented Pisani from potting home a rebound (see photo). He only allowed 1 goal and the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup. For his efforts, Cam Ward was rewarded the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP. He is just 1 of 14 goalie to win the award. He is just 1 of 2 to do it in their rookie season. The other is Patrick Roy. Cam Ward’s career lasted 14 years. He retired as Carolina’s all-time leader in games played, wins, and shutouts. His jersey number has not been retired, but he is a member of the Hurricanes’ Hall of Fame. He will forever be their first Stanley Cup Hero. PS: Cam Ward is very aware that there is a currently an NFL player who also played for a team called the Hurricanes named Cam Ward. The NHL’s Ward poked fun at the coincidence on draft night with an Instagram reel.

Hurricanes

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Vegas joins the NHL!

On June 22, 2016, Las Vegas officially became an NHL city when the league awarded Bill Foley’s expansion group the franchise that would become the Vegas Golden Knights. A decade later, that announcement looks like one of the best decisions the NHL has ever made. The Golden Knights became the first major professional sports team in Las Vegas, helping change the city’s reputation as a sports market, and paving the way for the NFL’s Raiders, MLB’s Athletics, and continued NBA expansion talks. Nobody could have known just how quickly the franchise would take off, seeing a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in its debut season, playoff appearances in eight of the first nine years, and a Stanley Cup championship in 2023. Foley ended the announcement with a line that resonates in the heart of all who adore the team and have grown with them, “Las Vegas is hockey-ready. We’re convinced of it. We know it.” Go Vegas, baby!

@Bro

Biggest loser in Hockey?

This has been on my mind a lot lately and yes you can call me salty or whatever. On December 12th 2025 the Vancouver Canucks traded star player Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild for Marco Rossi, Zeev Buimm, Liam Ohgren and a first round pick. Many Canucks like myself were very upset but saw it coming a 100 kilometres away. Buy as soon as Quinn Goes to the Wild he shows his true self. Before his first game against his former team he was asked about his former team and his response “honestly I don’t know any of there guys” Not a good look as*hat He was the Captain of the Canucks for two years and played there for almost 7 seasons. You know at least AT LEAST SIXTEEN OF THEM He also treated his tenure with the Canucks as a prison sentence always with one word answers but as soon as he goes to the Wild he’s all jolly. He never seemed happy even though his best years so far are with Vancouver. He never smiled and never did anything for this community he never cared to help people less fortunate in Vancouver especially going to B.C. Children’s Hospital where Canucks captains always have gone. No he’s done nothing. Sorry this was kinda a rant

@rafiki

"Fresh from the bench it's Crosby"

The Pittsburgh Penguins entered the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs looking to do something that had not been done in nearly two decades: win back-to-back championships. After defeating the San Jose Sharks in the 2016 Final, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and the Penguins' core returned. The regular season was far from easy. Pittsburgh dealt with injuries throughout the year, including a significant absence from Letang, who missed the entirety of the playoffs with a herniated disc, but still finished with 50 wins and earned the second seed in the Metropolitan Division. Their toughest test up to that point came in the second round against the Washington Capitals. For the second straight postseason, the Penguins faced their longtime rival, who had won the Presidents' Trophy and entered the series as the favorite. Pittsburgh once again ended Washington's season, winning 2-0 in Game 7 on the road to eliminate the Capitals for the second consecutive year. The Eastern Conference Final against the Ottawa Senators was another battle. After the teams split the first six games, the series went to a deciding Game 7 in Pittsburgh. Chris Kunitz became the hero, scoring his second goal of the game in double overtime to send the Penguins back to the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight year. I can still hear Lange's voice: "Fresh from the bench it's Crosby; Crosby onto Kunitz; Kunitz a shot; HE SCOOOOOOORES!!! PENGUINS WIN IT! AND THEY GO TO THE FINAL!" In the Stanley Cup Final, the teams traded home wins through the first four games before Pittsburgh took control with a 6-0 victory in Game 5, setting up a chance to close out the series in Nashville. Game 6 remained scoreless for most of the night until Patric Hornqvist, a former Predator, scored with just 1:35 remaining in the third period. Carl Hagelin added an empty-net goal, giving Pittsburgh a 2-0 victory and its fifth Stanley Cup in franchise history. With the win, the Penguins became the first team in the salary cap era and the first since the 1997-98 Detroit Red Wings to win consecutive Stanley Cups. Sidney Crosby also became just the third player in NHL history to win the Conn Smythe Trophy in back-to-back seasons, leading the Penguins' core of himself, Malkin, and Letang to their 3rd Stanley Cup. Looking back, after Crosby and Letang joined Malkin in the 2005 draft, I don't think anyone could've predicted that they would create one of the most successful and long-lasting cores of the modern NHL. After 20 years, these three managed to accumulate 3 Stanley Cups, 3 Harts, 3 Conn Smythes, 4 Art Rosses, 5 Ted Linsays, and 23 All-Star Selections, proving their greatness. Crosby is still performing at the highest level on his classic $8.7 million contract; Malkin signed a $5.5 million 1-year contract for the 2026-27 season; and Letang is also looking to return. They are not surrounded by the team that won those back-to-back cups, but they are still acting as the glue holding together a young and rising Pens Team.