Winning the game certainly would have been nice, but the headline coming out of this one is that the Canes are headed back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third straight year, a first since the team moved to North Carolina.
"We've got eight games left, and we're in the playoffs? Let's go. That's pretty impressive. Enough of the negative stuff. This group has worked their ass off all year," head coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "I know we lost the game in overtime. We lost the talent show part. We dug in, got a point and got in. We're not done."
How the Canes were able to get the point was fittingly indicative of how the team has played all season. Despite how the game might be going, despite the scoreboard, despite whatever factors are out of their control, they just go out and play. They're never out of a game, and even though they trailed for a large portion of this one, they were still able to find the game-tying tally and secure that all important point.
"We got behind and weren't playing poorly but fought back. It's been like this all year with these guys. I give them tons of credit," Brind'Amour said. "It's a great point tonight. That's how I look at it."
Now, in the final eight games of the season, the Canes can focus on locking up first place in the Central Division and securing home ice, at least for the first two rounds, in their quest for the Cup.
"It's important to be consistent and relevant year in and year out. That's what we're trying to be, and we're getting there, clearly. It says a lot about the organization and players we have. We have a great group of people. We're not satisfied," Brind'Amour said. "We've got one goal in mind. We're all on the same page."
