Paul Maurice & the Brass Bonanza

On the brink of elimination, the Carolina Hurricanes stormed out with their best performance of these playoffs, earning an impressive 4-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils. With the win, the Hurricanes have forced a seventh and deciding game in their Eastern Conference Quarter Final.

It's been quite the season for the Hurricanes who find themselves back in the playoffs for the first time since winning the Stanley Cup in 2006. The man responsible for their turnaround? Paul Maurice.

Before bringing Maurice back to Raleigh, the Hurricanes were a mediocre 12-11-2 and faced yet another year without playoff hockey. They re-hired Paul Maurice and suddenly the team finished the year with a 33-19-5 record, and are one win away from eliminating the New Jersey Devils.

It shouldn't come as a surprise either as Paul Maurice, in my opinion, is one of the best young coaches in the National Hockey League. Here's a guy who was quite consistant with a subpar Hartford Whalers / Carolina Hurricanes squad yet managed to take them to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2002. He would end up in Toronto and to be honest, I thought with Maurice behind the bench the Leafs could actually make a run at a Stanley Cup down the road. Instead they kept an incompetant General Manager in John Ferguson Jr. (whether or not he had much choice with MLSE is a whole other topic) who didn't really give Maurice much to work with. Despite this, he was able to get the most out of his young players - in particular, Jiri Tlusty who thrived under his guidance.

Unfortunately two years without making the playoffs led the axe to fall and put Paul Maurice on the unemployment line. A big mistake in my opinion, as given the right circumstances there's no doubt in my mind that he can lead a team to glory.

So he's now back in Carolina where he's working his magic yet again. I only hope that they can upset the Devils and give the Bruins a scare (assuming the Rangers lose to Washington) - proving to all his critics that he's not just another coach, he's one of the bright stars in the league.

Now in honour of Carolina's impressive victory tonight, I think we should all sit back and enjoy an all-time classic...

It envokes memories of the Hartford Whalers and is one of the more unique songs in hockey - my friends, I introduce to you ... The Brass Bonanza.