EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- For the Carolina Hurricanes, vindication has been a long time coming.

Remember, all ye faithful Hartford Whaler fans, the last time your team won a playoff series? It was 1986 against the Quebec Nordiques in the Adams Division semifinals.

Ron Francis, Carolina's 39-year-old captain whose power-play goal lifted the 'Canes past the New Jersey Devils in Game 6 Saturday and into the next round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, was there then, too.

"I was getting tired of hearing about 1986," said Francis. "I'm just glad I was here for this one, because I was hurt the first few times we made the playoffs."

Last season, when his team gave the Devils a scare and took them to six games, Francis was knocked out in Game 3 by one of Scott Stevens' trademark, bone-crushing checks. But the series put Raleigh, N.C., on the hockey map and marked the 'Canes as a team to be reckoned with.

During the regular season in between, the Hurricanes did little to fortify that reputation. They finished the season having surrendured as many goals as they scored (217). From late January to mid-March, they plodded along at a point-a-game pace and earned the moniker "Team Tie" for setting an NHL record with seven straight deadlocks at home.

By virtue of their Southeast Division title, they were the third seed in the Eastern Conference. Their 91 total points, however, ranked them seventh in the conference and 16th in the league.

"Last year, getting into the playoffs was good. Giving the Devils a run was good, but that wasn't enough," said center Rod Brind'Amour, who had a goal and an assist in the series. "I don't even think winning this one round is enough to give us respect. I know I'm not satisfied with that, and it's not enough for those people at home."

Those people -- the hockey fans of North Carolina -- packed the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena for all three home games in this series, which included one sellout, and two that were only a few hundred people short.

In New Jersey, that didn't happen. All three home games were undersold, and empty seats littered both the upper and lower bowls at Continental Airlines Arena. In Game 6, with 39.3 seconds left on the clock, the score set at 1-0 in favor of the Hurricanes, and Martin Brodeur's net empty, the "fans" were streaming to the exits to get a 39.3-second jump on the rest of their afternoon.

In just a few short seasons down south, the Hurricanes have managed to build up a more loyal fan base than the two-time Stanley Cup champion Devils.

One of the causes of Devils fans' frustrations was Kevin Weekes, Carolina's backup goalie who saw his first NHL playoff action in relief of the struggling Arturs Irbe in Game 4, and earned himself starts in both Games 5 and 6. Though he stopped 85 of the 88 shots he faced, Weekes was his usual humble self and deferred praise to the rest of his team.

"We have a bunch of forwards that you don't hear about that have been doing an outstanding job, like Josef Vasicek, Jeff Daniels and Kevyn Adams," he said. "Our defense, with Aaron Ward blocking shots and Glen Wesley playing very injured, has been great. This was really a 25-man effort."

Brodeur credited Carolina's team defense.

"Coming into this series, I wasn't really scared of them. I respected all of their experience, but I thought we'd get to their defense," he said. "What impressed me most about Carolina was the way that they handled our offense."

If Montreal beats the Boston Bruins, Carolina will face the Canadiens in the second round. If the Bruins win, they will play the Ottawa Senators and the Hurricanes will face the winner of the Toronto Maple Leafs-New York Islanders series. Whichever team the Hurricanes draw, it's likely they'll sell out at home. In Raleigh, they've already earned respect. With a playoff series victory in the books, they're well on their way to convincing the rest of the league.

Lindsay Berra writes hockey for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail her at lindsay.berra@espnmag.com.