Ray Whitney News

Hey, summer's here, there are few sports going on, so why not look at some of the worst athletes to play pro sports in Detroit the last 20 years? We will count down the top 10 for each team, one player a day, all summer long.

A strong playoff run has elevated expecations for the Carolina Hurricanes once again.

T he Carolina Hurricanes ran out of stones for their slingshot. After slaying the greatest goalie in NHL history and the Eastern Conference's top seed, the Hurricanes suffered a four-game sweep against 2008 Stanley Cup runner-up Pittsburgh.

Scott Walker delivered another knockout punch, scoring first NHL playoff goal 18:46 into overtime Thursday night to send the Carolina Hurricanes into the Eastern Conference finals with a 3-2 Game 7 victory over the Boston Bruins.

Less than a day after one season ended, the Carolina Hurricanes already were looking ahead to the next.

The Carolina Hurricanes are preparing for another comeback after being unable to rally in the NHL's Eastern Conference final.

Hurricanes right wing Scott Walker has some news for the Penguins' opponent in the Stanley Cup final.

It's been five months since Eric Staal went this long between goals. If the all-star centre doesn't start producing soon, he might have to wait that long before his next chance to score.

Cam Ward has quickly been gaining back the confidence back in this year's playoffs that he had during the Hurricane's Stanley Cup run in 2006.

Playoff comebacks have been commonplace for Carolina, and for the Hurricanes to make the Eastern Conference finals a series again, they'll need their biggest one yet.

Carolina took the ice for Game 2 against the Penguins on Thursday night with a recent track record of erasing one-game-to-none deficits such as the one the Hurricanes faced in the Eastern Conference final.

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Matt Cooke was not suspended Wednesday for a knee-to-knee hit on Erik Cole, one of two injured Carolina Hurricanes forwards who appear likely to miss Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday night.

So far as anyone can tell, there is no truth to the rumor that should the Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes reach Game 7 in the upcoming Eastern Conference final and should that game reach some ridiculous number of overtimes, eventually the teams will send out only Jordan and with two pillows at center ice.

The Stanley Cup playoffs continue tonight for the Carolina Hurricanes, which means they're on the road and could be 4-1 losers to the Penguins in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final.

You had to figure it would take more than a game-winning goal in the playoffs to make Scott Walker cry, although given how long he waited, no one would begrudge him if it did.

All the Bruins wanted was an opportunity, a chance to prove they were a far better team than the one that stumbled in losing Games 2-4 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Ray Whitney of the Carolina Hurricanes takes a shot as Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins defends during their NHL Eastern Conference semifinal round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in Boston on Thursday.

Eric Staal stood in the Carolina Hurricanes' locker room at the RBC Center with a look of determination, his voice filled with conviction.

For the second time this post-season, Jussi Jokinen was the hero for the Hurricanes.

The Bruins finished the second period with momentum after scoring earlier and keeping the puck deep the Carolina zone late in the period.