INSIDE HOCKEY

Why the Hurricanes won: The Hurricanes, as they did in 2006, are finding their own resiliency to be their biggest asset.

“We just had to grind it out,” forward Matt Cullen said. “It was a hard fought game and there wasn’t an inch of ice you didn’t have to fight for.”

Give Carolina credit for maintaining their composure after Milan Lucic scored the game-tying goal with 13:47 left in the third period. They didn’t let the pressure of the situation, or the building get to them.

Cam Ward, a Conn Smythe winner, proved it tonight stopping 34 of the 36 shots he faced. Rod Brind’Amour tipped in a shot from the point to tie the game at one and Sergei Samsonov, who was dealt out of Boston in former GM Mike O’Connell’s Post Joe Thornton purge, scored the second goal off a centering pass from Joni Pitkanen.

Why the Bruins lost: The Bruins battled to make this a series and then battled back to tie Game 7 on Lucic’s third period goal. Yet, the B’s will regret their slow start in the series and going 0-4 on the power play, with only six shots on net. Boston was outshot 10-6 in the second period despite spending six minutes on the man advantage.

"We just weren't generating," forward Marc Savard said.

It’s tough to blame Tim Thomas for this one, both goals in regulation were
opportunities he had little chance of stopping. Samsonov’s goal came in a two-on-three situation.

Key Moment: Scott Walker, the subject of much controversy after his hit on Aaron Ward in Game 5 ended things with 1:14 left in overtime on a lunch pail rebound goal.

“It’s tough,” forward Byron Bitz said of watching Walker score the game winner. “It certainly doesn’t make it any easier.”

What’s Next: Sidney Crosby and the Penguins loom for the Hurricanes in a matchup of two teams who have proven themselves on this stage. The Bruins can shave the beards and go golfing for the summer, but must deal with the impending restricted free agency of top players Phil Kessel and David Krejci this summer.