There was never a time when a loss was OK, when there was room to relax or take a deep, cleansing breath. Over the final month and a half of the season, with the Canes locked in a battle with the Boston Bruins for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, every game was like a playoff game. There was that much on the line. There's an adage in ice hockey that makes little or no sense to many of us but must be true. Coaches say it.
Players say it.
At times, it even seems like migrating geese from Canada quack it. Still going Already dressed to go home, Ron Francis walked through the Carolina Hurricanes' locker room, seeking out his teammates as the hour approached 11 p.m. on Friday. The captain offered congratulations to his teammates on clinching a playoff spot that night. Each one offered them back, as happy for Francis as he was for them. Alternate captain Rod Brind'Amour's words to Francis were a little more to the point.