"Shock at The Rock"

Game 7 of the first round series of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Carolina Hurricanes (6) and the New Jersey Devils (3), played on April 28, 2009 at The Prudential Center (aka "The Rock") in Newark, NJ, capped off what many considered to be one of the greatest series -never- seen by the world (due to lack of national coverage). It was one of the tightest, most evenly matched series in recent memory. Both organizations displayed class and treated each other with the utmost respect which made the series all the better. No cheapshots or bashing in the media - just straight up hockey.

"It's one of those series where it's a shame someone's going to lose..."
- Brendan Shanahan

The home crowd of 17,625 of the New Jersey Devils was left in "shock" at the conclusion of the game when Jussi Jokinen and Eric Staal combined with two goals for the Canes in the final 80 seconds of regulation to snatch the series victory away from the Devils in dramatic fashion.

"That's why you play until the final buzzer... it took seven games and came down to the 59th minute but we never gave up..."
- Cam Ward

- Staal's goal came with just 32 seconds left in regulation - the latest third-period game-winning goal in a Game 7 in Stanley Cup Playoff history
- New Jersey became the first team in the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs to lose when leading after two periods (teams were 29-0 previously)
- Cam Ward became just the sixth goalie in NHL history to win his first three career playoff Game 7 starts
- Carolina won for the first time in a Game 7 -on the road- in its franchise history (including the Hartford Whalers)

This video was created to mark the unforgettable game which the Caniac Nation collectively dubbed, "Shock at The Rock."

I would like to extend thanks to both organizations for giving us all such a great series to take part in as hockey fans, and as a Caniac I want to thank the entire Hurricanes team and coaching staff for such an unforgettable series with an unbelievable ending.

*Hey even that girl behind Staal thinks he is number one! But twice!*

Footage provided by: Fox Sports Carolinas (Play-by-play, John Forslund; Color analyst, Tripp Tracy)
Radio provided by: WCMC 99.9FM The Fan, ESPN Radio (Play-by-play, Chuck Kaiton)
Photos by: Chris Seward, Bruce Bennett (Getty Images), and Andy Marlin (NHLI via Getty Images)
Music: "Bitter Sweet Symphony" by The Verve & "One More Time" by Daft Punk

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Category:

Sports

Tags:

• carolina
• hurricanes
• canes
• new
• jersey
• devils
• nhl
• hockey
• 2009
• stanley
• cup
• playoffs
• game
• 80
• seconds
• staal
• jokinen
• pitkanen
• gleason
• larose
• ward