National Hockey League (NHL) is the strongest representative of hockey in the world. Only professionals play here, and every athlete dreams of getting into it. Any team can boast of titled players and well-deserved coaches. Consider one of the representatives of this league - the Carolina Hurricanes team.
Appearance
It originates in the distant 1971, when it began to play as part of the All-Union Military Technical Association (World Hockey Association). The next season the team won, but the attendance in the arena was very small. This was due to the fact that they performed in Boston, where there was very great competition. Therefore, tickets very often remained gathering dust at the box office.
The solution was to find very quickly. The team moved to Hartford, which could not boast of any remarkable success in any sport. Therefore, the arrival of hockey in the city was perceived by all only positively.
Way to success
In 1979, the WHA began to lose its position to the more powerful NHL league. In less than a couple of years, all the strong teams moved from the association to the new championship. The debut of ambitious newcomers was a success. “Carolina Hurricanes” took 4th place and went to the Stanley Cup.
It is worth noting that the name of the team has changed several times. And only in the 1998 season did everyone have a familiar name. The 2005 season is considered the most successful for the team. She was able to win the Stanley Cup. After that, she could not repeat this result anymore. And since 2009, the team can’t break even into the first stage of the prestigious draw.
Structure
For a long time, the team had at its disposal not only professional players, but also stars of world hockey. All of them glorified the Carolina Hurricanes team, the composition of which consisted only of professionals. Among them, the following names can be distinguished:
- Eric Staal. Marked with the largest number of goals in the championship.
- Cam Ward. Noted the highest number of goalkeeper victories.
- Yoni Pitkanen. I scored the most points.
- Stu Grimson. Spent the greatest number of minutes on the penalty box.
- Rod Brindamor. The greatest number of gears.
- Arthur Irbe. The goalkeeper who spent the most time on ice and dry matches.
Hockey League Hall members include Gordy Howe, Ron Francis, Dave Kion
Stanley Cup
In the final, Carolina Hurricanes met with Edmonton Oilers. The series turned out to be very stubborn and until the last 7th game it was not clear who would take the trophy for himself. The path consisted of 82 matches of the season, as well as a heavy playoff. Therefore, the speed in the game was not too high, and the teams paid special attention to their defense. The Arena was attended by 19 thousand fans.
“Carolina” completely outplayed the guests, allowing in 1 half only 5 times to disturb their goalkeeper. Already at 2 minutes they opened an account in this game. Everything turned out for the team, except for a numerical advantage. But after the break, “Hurricanes” in 8 seconds managed to realize their majority. After the score 2-0, the team completely went on the defensive. And even offensive and unnecessary deletions could not stop her from taking the Cup.
But still, Fernando Pisani from “Edmonton” was able to add intrigue to this confrontation. On the scoreboard, the score 2: 1 lit up. But that didn't bother the Carolina Hurricanes team. They played very carefully and did not allow themselves to leave without a reason. But the “Edmonton” also added. However, this was not enough. 7 minutes before the end, they had a wonderful chance to equalize after removing one of the Carolina players. And without taking advantage of the situation, a few minutes before the siren, 6 players entered the ice. But Justin Williams intercepted the puck and threw it into the empty net. Until the end of the match, the score was saved 3: 1 in favor of “Hurricanes”. So, one of the best NHL teams “Carolina Hurricanes” won the Stanley Cup.