Saad, Stalock lead Hurricanes to playoff birth

RALEIGH, NC – Brandon Saad's second period goal and 29 saves from Alex Stalock were enough for the Carolina Hurricanes to clinch the final playoff spot in the Lemieux Conference with a 2-0 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday evening.

"We can breathe a sigh of relief but we can't fully exhale yet," said Hurricanes head coach Lindy Ruff. "We have a lot more work to put in."

Saad's 9th goal of the season came with 6:30 left in the second period and sent a near-capacity crowd of 18,496 into a frenzy at the RBC Center. "It's nice to get a little confidence back going into the playoffs," Saad said after the game. He scored in back-to-back games to finish the regular season after going 14 games without a goal.

For coach Ruff, the confidence was not limited to just his young forward. "The biggest thing for us is that we didn't sit back and hold the game at 1-0. We pushed the pace and controlled the game after that. Everyone should feel good about their effort tonight against a great team like the Capitals."

Johan Franzen scored his fifth goal of the season midway through the third period on the power play to help seal the win for the Hurricanes.

A factor that could have contributed to the Hurricanes success was that the Capitals started backup goaltender Viktor Fasth in the game. However, Fasth was needed to make big saves for the Caps, finishing the night with 30 saves. The Canes outshot the Caps 32-29 just one night after being outshot 46-18 by the New Jersey Devils.

"We knew we had the advantage in the standings but we didn't want to 'OT Loss' our way into the playoffs," Ruff said. "The win is what we wanted and what was earned."

Carolina went into the final night of the regular season with a one-point lead on the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Islanders for the final wildcard spot in the Lemieux Conference and two points behind the Ottawa Senators. While the Canes won to clinch outright, the Lightning and Islanders lost their games. The Senators also lost their final game, allowing the Hurricanes to pass the Sens into the first wildcard spot (or 7th seed) by virtue of winning the second tie-breaker of head-to-head record. Both teams tied with 50 points and 19 regulation/overtime wins, but the Canes won both games in the season series.

The Hurricanes will now face the Buffalo Sabres in the first round of the EHE playoffs. The teams split the season series 1-1, though the Sabres defeated the Hurricanes 3-1 on Wednesday night in a controversial game that saw many Carolina players lash out at Sabres captain Shane Doan. With the animosity still high, it could make for a very intriguing matchup.