And so the season ends

Finally, this sub-par season is over. It seemed in November that the end of the season couldn't come quick enough - now that it's over it seems a shame that this team couldn't compete in the weak Eastern Conference playoffs. But every team has to have rebuilding years sometimes, unfortunately this year was the Canes'.

The Canes followed up the All-Star Game announcement with a 5-2 win over the Canadiens. It was Fan Appreciation Night at the RBC Center, which meant free hats. And what's better on hat day than a hat trick? Eric Staal netted three for the Canes and had helpers on Chad LaRose's two goals for a spectacular night. At least the Canes managed to scrape together a good win for the fans at home, something which doesn't always happen on Fan Appreciation Night.

And then came today's game against the Boston Bruins. The Canes were kind enough to allow Boston to clinch a spot in the playoffs in this one. The Bruins were definitely helped along by the fact that Carolina let in three shorthanded goals on the same power play, an NHL record.

Yeah, let's file this game under "Games I'm glad I didn't see". It's games like this that are preventing me from feeling too bad about missing the playoffs this year. Three shorthanded goals - really? That's just not cool.

And so begins the offseason. Stick around, I'll have sporadic coverage on the playoffs, including a special Playoffs flowchart I whipped up in case you don't know who to pull for in the East.

Erik Cole stats (Saturday): 1 goal
Final season stats: 11 goals, 5 assists

Chad LaRose stats (Thursday): 2 goals, 2 assists
Saturday: 1 assist
Final season stats: 11 goals, 17 assists