Schedule and 2002 Results
Regular Season Records: Carolina 35-26-16-5=91pts, Toronto 43-25-10-4=100pts
Game 1 on Thursday, 16 May: Tor. wins at Car., 2-goals-1
Game 2 on Sunday, 19 May: Tor. loses at Car., 2-goals-1 (OT)
Game 3 on Tuesday, 21 May: Car. wins at Tor., 2-goals-1 (OT)
Game 4 on Thursday, 23 May: Car. wins at Tor., 3-goals-nil
Game 5 on Saturday, 25 May: Tor. wins at Car., 1-goal-nil
Game 6 on Tuesday, 28 May: Car. wins at Tor., 2-goals-1 (OT)

SERIES NOTES:

Post Game 6 notes: Carolina visited and defeated Toronto 2-goals-1 in overtime, thereby winning best-of-7 series 860 by a 4-games-2 margin. In best-of-7 Semis-round Game 6, Carolina now has a 1-0 record (1-0 on the road), while Toronto now has a 6-7 record (5-6 on the road; the five wins are tied for an MLB/NBA/NHL-high and the six losses are an MLB/NBA/NHL-high) in this category. The Carolina Hurricanes' best-of-7 NHL playoff series record is now 3-2 and 1-0 in the Semis-round. The Toronto Maple Leafs' best-of-7 NHL playoff series record is now 34-36 and 12-16 in the Semis-round. Carolina wins this series through an LWWWLW win order: This series is the fifth such series in the NHL Semifinals, the 17th such series in the NHL (all rounds), and the 34th such series in the NHL, NBA, and MLB to follow this win order. The first NHL best-of-7 playoff series to follow such a win order was series 62, in which the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Montreal Canadiens LWWWLW in the 1947 NHL Finals. Level 2 records set in this series (for a 6-game NHL best-of-7 playoff series): Fewest series goals by one team -- Toronto, 6 goals (breaking the old record of 8 goals, set by Philadelphia in the 1989 NHL Semifinals and tied by Carolina in the 2001 NHL Preliminary round); fewest series goals by one team at home -- Toronto, 2 goals (breaking the old record of 3 goals, set by 3 teams); fewest series goals by both teams -- 16 goals (breaking the old record of 20 goals, set by Philadelphia/Toronto in the 1999 NHL Preliminary round and tied by Carolina/New Jersey in the 2002 NHL Preliminary round).

Post Game 5 notes: Toronto shuts out the Hurricanes in Carolina 1-goal-nil; Carolina now leads series 860 by a 3-games-2 margin. The best-of-7 Semis-round Game 5 record for Carolina is now 0-1 (0-1 at home), while that for the Maple Leafs is 13-11 (7-9 on the road; those 7 road wins in best-of-7 Semis-round Game 5s are an NHL/NBA/MLB best). When leading a best-of-7 NHL playoff series 3-games-2, Carolina has a 2-0 series record; when trailing 3-games-2, Toronto has a 6-11 series record.

Post Game 4 notes: Carolina defeats the Maple Leafs in Toronto 3-goals-nil to take a 3-games-1 series lead. Carolina now has a 1-0 (1-0 on the road) best-of-7 Semis-round Game 4 record, while that for Toronto is 12-12 (6-3 at home). Carolina is leading a best-of-7 NHL playoff series 3-games-1 for the first time. When trailing a best-of-7 series 3-games-1, the Toronto Maple Leafs have posted a 1-12 series record; the sole win came in best-of-7 series 42, in which the Leafs had ultimately surmounted a 3-games-nil deficit to defeat Detroit in the 1942 NHL Finals. Once before in an NHL best-of-7 series had a team lost Game 1 by one goal, won Game 2 by one goal, won Game 3 by one goal, and won Game 4 by three goals: In series 266, the Montreal Canadiens did so in their 1973 Semis-round series vs. the Philadelphia Flyers (Montreal won the series 4-games-1). This series is the first-ever best-of-7 NHL playoff series in which a total of three goals per game had been tallied in each of the first four games. Teams trailing 3-games-1 in NHL Semis-round best-of-7 series have a 1-53 series record: The sole winner (and thus the precedent-setter for Toronto) was the New Jersey Devils, in series 810 (2000) vs. Philadelphia. In previous best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL playoff Semis-round series, teams trailing WLLL @ VVHH have a 7-6 record in Game 5, but are 0-6 in the last six such games.

Post Game 3 notes: Carolina visits and defeats Toronto 2-goals-1 in overtime, thus capturing a 2-games-1 lead in best-of-7 series 860. The Carolina best-of-7 Semis-round Game 3 record is now 1-0 (1-0 on the road), while that for Toronto is now 10-18 (5-12 at home; those 18 overall losses and 12 home losses are best-of-7 Semis-round Game 3 highs among NHL, NBA, and MLB franchises). When leading a best-of-7 series 2-games-1, Carolina has a 1-1 series record; when trailing a best-of-7 series 2-games-1, Toronto has a 10-17 series record. Series 860 becomes the first NHL series in which the first three games have been decided by 2-goals-1 final scores. Previously, two NHL series featured 2-goals-1 final scores in the first two games: Best-of-7 series 636, in which Toronto defeated St. Louis in their 1993 Quarterfinals series; best-of-7 series 850, in which these Carolina Hurricanes defeated New Jersey in the 2002 Preliminary round. Teams opening with a WLL @ VVH record (eg. Toronto) in MLB/NBA/NHL Semis-round play hold a 1-17 series record: That one series win was recorded by the NHL New Jersey Devils in best-of-7 series 810, against the Philadelphia Flyers in their 2000 Semifinals series (which the Devils trailed 3-games-1 after four games).

Post Game 2 notes: Carolina defeats Toronto at home in overtime 2-goals-1 to tie their series at 1-game-all. The win sets Carolina's best-of-7 Semis-round Game 2 record at 1-0 (1-0 at home) while lowering that of Toronto to 14-14 (9-10 on the road; those 9 best-of-7 Semis-round Game 2 wins are an NBA/NHL/MLB high). When tied 1-game-all in a best-of-7 NHL playoff series, the Carolina Hurricanes have posted a 1-1 series record (their predecessor franchise, the Hartford Whalers, had an 0-3 series record when tied 1-game-all after the first two games of a best-of-7 series). When tied 1-game-all in a best-of-7 NHL playoff series, the Toronto Maple Leafs have posted a 15-17 series record. In NHL best-of-7 playoff series from 1939 through the 2002 Quarterfinals, only once before has a team won Game One 2-goals-1 and lost Game Two 2-goals-1: In best-of-7 series 636, the Toronto Maple Leafs did so in their 1993 Quarterfinals (Divison Finals) series vs. St. Louis; the Leafs won that series in seven games. (To boot: Both Game 2 losses were overtime losses.) The Leafs tied Game 2 vs. Carolina 1-goal-all with 8 seconds left in regulation. In the 441 NHL best-of-7 playoff series from 1939 through 2001, the latest that any team had trailed into regulation but won the game was 9 seconds left in regulation: In Game 4 of their 1996 NHL Preliminary-round (Western Conference Quarterfinals) series, the Chicago Blackhawks scored to tie their game in Calgary with 9 seconds left, and scored again to defeat (and eliminate) the Flames with 10:02 elapsed in the third overtime.

Post Game 1 notes: Toronto visits and defeats Carolina 2-goals-1 to take a 1-game-nil lead in series 860. In best-of-7 Semis-round Game 1 play, Carolina is now 0-1 (0-1 at home), while Toronto is 13-15 (5-12 on the road). When leading a best-of-7 NHL playoff series 1-game-nil, the Toronto Maple Leafs have a 19-11 series record; when trailing such a series 1-game-nil, the Carolina Hurricanes have an 0-2 series record. From 1939 through 2001, teams winning an NHL best-of-7 playoff Game 1 by a 2-goals-1 score on the road have gone on to post an 11-6 series record.

Pre-series assessment: In the 2001-02 regular season, Toronto finished with nine more points than Carolina, but Carolina wins home ice by virtue of its division title. In best-of-7 NHL playoff series from 1939 through the 2002 Quarterfinals (453 series total), when a team finishes the regular season with nine more points than its best-of-7 playoff series opponent, its series record against such opponents is 11-9.