MONTREAL, May 13 (UPI) -- The Carolina Hurricanes would not be denied their first trip to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The "BBC" line of Bates Battaglia, Rod Brind'Amour and rookie Erik Cole combined for nine points as the Hurricanes rolled to an 8-2 rout of the Montreal Canadiens Monday night and a four games to two win
in their conference semifinal series.
Cole set the tone 25 seconds into the game, sparking a five-goal first period for Carolina with his fifth playoff tally. After escaping a check from Joe
Juneau, Cole tapped a pass from Brind'Amour just inside the right goalpost.
The rookie winger struck again just over three minutes later when he knocked down a bouncing puck and chipped it over the glove of goaltender Jose Theodore.
Defenseman Sean Hill, Josef Vasicek and Kevyn Adams continued the barrage as the Hurricanes built a 5-0 lead with 95 seconds left in the period.
Arturs Irbe made 31 saves and Sami Kapanen had a pair of assists for Carolina, which was 3-for-4 on the power play. The Hurricanes took the final three games of the best-of-seven series and await the winner of the other Eastern Conference series between Toronto and Ottawa.
Defenseman Stephane Quintal had a goal and an assist for the Canadiens, who barely avoided matching the most decisive playoff loss in their storied history. They were beaten, 7-0, by the Seattle Metropolitans on March 19, 1919.
