CANES SHOCK, SHUTOUT RANGERS IN GAME 1

Carolina

With the hype of the playoffs all but meaningless now, game 1 kicked off with a bang and there could be no one more surprised than Rangers fans.

With all the talk of the league's top defensive squad and their high profile penalty killing, the Rangers were defeated 5-0 with the Canes claiming 3 of the five goals on the power play. Kyle Wellwood, Daniel Briere and Carlo Colaiacovo each had a power play goals while Bryan Smolinski and Brad Boyes, both acquired in the cricitized Cory Stillman deal, added the others.

"The game went very well for us," said captain Shane Doan, who had an assist in the contest. "The Rangers came out hard but they kept taking penalties and we were able to capitalize on them. We need to stay steady for next game as well. The series requires 4 wins afterall, nothing is done yet."

The star of the game, however, had nothing to do with power plays. Jose Theodore turned away all 33 shots he faced in the contest.

"He was the rock that we needed him to be," said defenseman Jay McKee. "He put a stop to the Rangers from the get go and truthfully, it never seemed like he was going to be beaten this night. He was in the zone."

The Canes will receive no rest as the next game is tonight in the Big Apple. On the injury front, Pavel Bure was drilled heavily by Gord Dwyer and was unable to resume play in the mid second period. Dwyer"s hit was clean, although the rather fired up crowd would disagree. Bure will not be in the lineup for game 2 either. Kris Draper was also unable to finish the contest, but has been cleared to play in tonight’s rematch.