Panthers-Hurricanes Preview

Since winning the Stanley Cup three seasons ago, the Carolina Hurricanes haven't returned to the playoffs. They'll look to put the disappointing end of last season behind them as they open 2008-09 on Friday against the Florida Panthers and Peter DeBoer in his NHL coaching debut. The Hurricanes (43-33-6) captured their first Cup in 2005-06, but they've endured less-than-memorable finishes the last two seasons. In 2006-07, Carolina lost five of its last seven games to miss the playoffs by four points, and last season's final stretch was even worse. With a 2-1 overtime win over Florida (38-35-9) on March 20, Carolina took a seemingly safe seven-point lead over Washington atop the Southeast Division. The advantage didn't hold up, however, as the Hurricanes went 2-3-1 to close the season while the Capitals won seven straight to... [read full story]