RALEIGH, N.C. -- In sports, anything can happen. One need only look to Saturday's Belmont Stakes, when a 70-1 shot named Sarava raced into the winner's circle, for yet another reminder of that sporting fact.

	“	If I had to play at two o'clock, I would have been ready. Both teams will have the same amount of rest, so no one will have an advantage when we start the next game. ”
		— 'Canes goaltender Arturs Irbe

That said, the Carolina Hurricanes must find a way to win Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals vs. the Detroit Red Wings at the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena on Monday night.

The reason is simply this: if the Hurricanes don't skate off with a victory, they will be down 3-1 in the series. And, although anything can happen, the odds of the Hurricanes winning three straight games against the Red Wings are far longer than 75-1.

To win Game 4, the 'Canes must first put their marathon triple-overtime Game 3 loss behind them. On Sunday afternoon, less than 24 hours after the heartbreaking defeat, the Hurricanes seemed ready to move forward.

"As much as we would have loved to have won that game, there's nothing we can do about it," Carolina captain Ron Francis said. "There is something we can do about Game 4. That's where our focus and attention has to be."

Goalie Arturs Irbe, who was brilliant in stopping 50 shots in the Game 3 loss, seemed quite ready to get back into action.

"If I had to play at two o'clock, I would have been ready," said Irbe, who had never been in such a long game in his pro hockey career. "Both teams will have the same amount of rest, so no one will have an advantage when we start the next game."

The next game likely will be much like the first three games in this series. That's to say it will be tight checking and low scoring. And, that's just the way the Hurricanes want it.

However, they must limit their mistakes. In Games 2 and 3, whenever the 'Canes have made a mistake, the Wings have been there to take advantage.

In Game 3, rookie LW Erik Cole (who has enjoyed an excellent playoffs) made a pair of critical errors which led to the tying and winning goals for the Wings. On Brett Hull's tying goal, with just 1:14 remaining in regulation time of Game 3, Cole failed to get to the point to defend Wings' Nick Lidstrom. Because of Cole's indecision, the Norris Trophy-winning defenseman had the time to take the shot that was deflected into the net by Hull.

Much later, in the third overtime, Cole was covering for teammate Niklas Wallin, who pinched deep into the attacking zone. When the puck came up the boards, Cole tried to play it rather than backing up. That decision led to an odd-man rush which resulted in Igor Larionov's game-ending goal.

If the Hurricanes can eliminate those types of mistakes -- and truly put the Game 3 disappointment behind them -- they'll have a great opportunity to even the series on their home ice.

If they don't, they'll find themselves in a very deep hole against a strong, veteran opponent. And, they'll find themselves just 60 minutes from the end of their sensational season.

E.J. Hradek writes hockey for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at ej.hradek@espnmag.com.