RALEIGH, N.C. -- The death notice is headed to the printer again for the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Eastern Conference champions can't possibly rally in another playoff series as the underdog, especially after losing Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals in triple overtime to the Detroit Red Wings -- can they?

Coach Paul Maurice said his club will be back in the fight for Game 4 on Monday night despite falling behind 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.

"Our room has been great since the New Jersey series when the obits were written for our club,'' Maurice said Sunday. "There is a little bit of anger and grumpiness, maybe more on my part than the guys, because when we finally got together today you could see that spark. It's still there and it's a good sign.''

Carolina remained confident heading into the middle portion of the series since the first three games have gone down to the wire against virtually an all-star team many hockey experts expected to roll through the series with relative ease.

The Hurricanes won Game 1 in overtime in Detriot, had Game 2 tied at 1-1 with five minutes left before giving up two goals in 13 seconds, and had a 2-1 lead Saturday night until Brett Hull scored on a deflection with 1:14 left in regulation.

That tip-in led to the third-longest Cup final game and the longest playoff game in Carolina history.

"Our stake in this has been our ability to compete and fight and not really care whether it's pretty or not,'' Maurice said. "We competed pretty darn hard (Saturday night). Yeah, we made some mistakes, but some of them were forced on us.

"But the fight was there and the intensity was there and those are the things that we've gotten to this point on. As long as things stay at that level, and we're hopeful they increase, things will be alive and well in our room.''

The stat sheet from Game 3 is evidence of how well the Hurricanes competed. Carolina blocked 38 shots, outhit the Red Wings 69-38 and won 55 percent of faceoffs.

To a man, the Red Wings believe the Hurricanes won't go away quietly.

"We knew it was going to be tough for us with the approach that the media took, and friends and family. They thought we were going to have a walk in the park,'' Detroit's Sergei Fedorov said. "We knew that wasn't going to happen. We realized that after the first game.''

So did Darren McCarty.

"As the series goes on, they're making more believers out of you guys,'' McCarty said to a group of reporters Sunday. "We knew it was going to be a battle, and it has continued to be a battle. You've got to go out and be prepared to do all the little things to win.''

Losing a lead late in regulation and then bowing out in triple overtime takes an emotional toll, but Carolina has been a team that has forgotten the past and lived for the upcoming challenge all season. Don't expect a change now, the players said.

"It's a tough way to lose a game, and that's the bottom line, but it's no different then losing a game in regulation -- it's a loss,'' Jeff O'Neill said. "It's like taking a quadruple-bogey on a hole and a guy makes a birdie. Even if you make a bogey, it's the same thing -- you lose. We just have to wipe the slate clean.''

In a strange way, the Hurricanes have played better all season with their backs to the wall, when most have counted them down and out. The players believe Game 4 could be one of those times.

"We expected to be in every game right from the start,'' Sean Hill said. "People outside of our room didn't expect us to compete with them and we've always believed we could and that belief hasn't changed. We feel we can play some good hockey too, and so far we have.''