3 down, One to go

RALEIGH - The fans were seen leaving for the exits halfway through the third period after Rick Nash scored as the Toronto Maple Leafs cruised to a 5-1 victory in game 4.  The Leafs now lead their series 3-1 as it shifts back to Toronto where they have been a near impeccable with a 7-1 record.  The Hurricanes were given opportunities to run away with Game 4, as they played a disciplined first two periods but went just 1 for 4 on the powerplay.  

In the third period, though, it seemed as if they ran out of gas, taking three needless penalties in the final frame including one for diving despite Pascal Dupuis' best acting efforts.  Two of those penalties resulted in powerplay goals by David Krejci and Rick Nash for Toronto as they ran away with the game.  Corey Crawford stopped 27 of 28 shots in the win while counterpart Carey Price just made a paltry 20 saves on 25 shots, including a whiffer by Chris Tierney in the second period just as he crossed into the offensive zone.

When asked if his team was beginning to tire out from the playoff grind, Hurricanes coach Willie Desjardins snapped an answer back: "Everyone keeps calling us an old team.  We're a veteran team, full of guys with character and players that have distinguished themselves.  Age is not an issue with us."  Desjardins continued angrily, "Why isn't anyone taking age shots at Toronto?  They have that fossil Zdeno Chara on their team.  Their core is on the north side of thirty.  They are just as old as us and it frustrates me that we're the ones that are getting bombarded with these questions."

To be fair, the Hurricanes are the oldest team that made the playoffs, while the Leafs are in the middle of the pack.  With aging vets such as Henrik Sedin, Matt Cullen and Pascal Dupuis, the criticism is warranted and there should be a concern that these core players could be wearing down.  On the flip side, The Maple Leafs only have Chara and Jay McClement over the age of 35, and McClement gets used sparingly on the fourth line.

"Is Willie whining again?" Leafs GM Ron Dubin posed the question during his post game press conference, "He's looking for a crutch to lean on.  He's looking for something to throw up on the wall of their dressing room to try and motivate his players.  You know that a team is slipping when a coach is grasping to find ways to motivate his players.

"Fact of the matter is that, even though we had a short summer last year, our team came to play for one goal," Dubin continued, "And that is to win the Stanley Cup.  We have prepared relentlessly for this moment and now it's paying off. We are still missing one of our top 4 defencemen and they should be taking it to us.  We should be scrambling here, but we're not.  They just don't have what it takes."

With Game 5 scheduled for Wednesday, this rivalry will continue to boil as shots are being traded on the ice and behind the microphone.  Toronto is one game away from making it 2 years in a row, does Carolina have anything left in the tank to stave off elimination and get back into the series?  Stay tuned.