Hurricanes win, breeze into conference finals

MONTREAL -- Flash from the BBC: Carolina Conquers Canadiens!

Erik Cole, the "C" in Carolina's BBC line that includes Rod Brind'Amour and Bates Battaglia, scored twice in the first 3:33 Monday night as the Hurricanes blitzed Montreal for five first-period goals and breezed to an 8-2 victory to win their best-of-seven Stanley Cup playoff series in six games.

It was the first win in six playoff meetings against the storied Canadiens for the franchise, which entered the NHL in 1979 as the Hartford Whalers and moved to North Carolina five years ago.

The Hurricanes will make the franchise's first appearance in the conference finals against either Toronto or Ottawa. That series is tied 3-3, with the seventh game Tuesday night in Toronto.

After blowing a 3-0 third-period lead at the Molson Centre and losing 4-3 in overtime on Thursday night, the Canadiens were humbled 5-1 at Carolina on Sunday, rendering this hockey-mad city into a somber mood.

Still, Carolina expected the Canadiens to storm out in the first period with the raucous capacity crowd of over 21,000 shaking the Molson Centre with their cheers. But any hope the Canadiens might rally to force a Game 7 was quickly dashed by the enthusiastic rookie from Oswego, N.Y., who scored twice before Montreal took its first shot.

Cole scored his first goal -- and fifth of the playoffs -- just 25 seconds in, easily beating Montreal goalie Jose Theodore after the netminder deflected Brind'Amour's goalmouth pass but was unable to control it in the crease.

Cole made it 2-0 at 3:33, again from right in front, this time off a setup by Battaglia after Theodore and Montreal defenseman Patrice Brisbois misplayed the puck.

Montreal had no answer for the BBC line all series. The trio combined to score 11 of Carolina's 21 goals in the series and finished Game 6 with three goals and six assists.

Sean Hill made it 3-0 at 7:55 on a Carolina power play -- with a huge assist from Montreal's Chad Kilger. The big winger, who was cruising in the slot, deflected Hill's cross-ice pass for Brind'Amour, and it caromed through the skates of defenseman Stephane Quintal in the crease and past a startled Theodore.

Josef Vasicek made it 4-0 with just over five minutes left in the period after another Montreal miscue. Cole intercepted a blind pass by Craig Rivet in the neutral zone and was stopped by Theodore, but Vasicek easily backhanded the rebound home.