Cam Ward

Throughout the history of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, there have been heroes who have scored the big goals and brought their team the ultimate glory of hockey's holy grail.

Then there are the puck stoppers who stood 200 feet down the ice who made the big saves when their teams needed it and brought their team the Stanley Cup by shutting down the opponent's most deadly snipers.

The 2010-11 season for the Carolina Hurricanes was a long journey for a young team—all the way from the NHL Premiere in Finland to a home loss that finished the 'Canes just one win away from a playoff berth.

Still disappointed about that defeat? Yes, we all are. But here are some good signs for the future:

Regardless of what happened in last year's playoffs, great goaltending wins Stanley Cup Championships. We've seen it countless times.

Every Cup-winning goalie from 1991 to 2003 is in the Hall of Fame, or will be when he finishes playing.

Since the lockout, the Cup-winning goalies have been Cam Ward, JS Giguere, Chris Osgood (fourth Cup), MA Fleury, and Antti Niemi. Niemi is the only one who isn't an elite or multiple Cup-winning goalie.

Last night, the New York Rangers faced off against a young Carolina Hurricanes team.

The Hurricanes, who have only played one home game this season, defeated the Rangers 4-3, continuing the Rangers' struggles on home ice (they now hold a weak record of 1-3-1 in Madison Square Garden this season).

Exactly two weeks into the 2010-2011 NHL Season, the Carolina Hurricanes hold the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference Standings and the third slot in the Southeastern Division with six points on three wins and three losses.

Teamwork.  That is what the Carolina Hurricanes must remember to start the season in North America.

It is the Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend and I am thankful that Week 2 in the NHL is the first full week of this new NHL season. The key matchup this week is on October 14, when Mike Modano plays his first game in Dallas not in a Stars uniform. Modano scored a goal for the Red Wings in the season opener and should have a strong game against the organization he spent his entire career with till this season.

The Carolina Hurricanes flew into Helsinki, Finland, with four points and a confidence-building start to the 2010-2011 NHL season in mind.

And, as the back-to-back concluded Friday afternoon, they achieved exactly what they were looking for.

After Friday's European Sendoff preseason game against the Atlanta Thrashers, the Carolina Hurricanes will board a plane to cross the Atlantic and prepare to begin their 2010-2011 regular season.

Hopefully, they can get off to a better start than last year, where the Hurricanes were last in the league for much of the first half of the season.

As part of a continuing series, writer Benjamin Benya will be previewing all 30 NHL teams over the next two weeks in preparation for the 2010-2011 regular season.

As we continue towards the playoff picture, let's check in with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Key Additions: D Anton Babchuk, D Joe Corvo, C Patrick O’Sullivan, D Bobby Sanguinetti, RW Jared Staal.