TORONTO -- It didn't take long for the Carolina Hurricanes to embrace the underdog role in the upcoming Stanley Cup finals.

Just minutes after their Eastern Conference title-clinching 2-1 overtime win in Toronto on Tuesday night, Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice joked that the club had applied for "underdog status." (He said he was waiting to hear from the media concerning the request.)

Maurice doesn't seem to care that his "mongrels" -- as he called them -- will be a decided underdog against either Colorado or Detroit.

"We will not be favored," Maurice said. "But then again, were we at any point?"

When you think about, they really haven't been.

The Southeast Division champions certainly weren't the favorite against the defending Eastern Conference champs and perennial power Devils in the first round. Yet, the 'Canes won in six games, clinching on the road.

In the second round, many observers -- including this one -- didn't think the Hurricanes would get past Jose Theodore and the Canadiens. But, again, they won in six games, wrapping it up with a rout on the road.

And, finally, Carolina was a 50-50 proposition, at best, to defeat the resilient Leafs, who seemed like a team with nine (or more) playoff lives. But, one more time, the Hurricanes eliminated another opponent in six games, in enemy territory.

So, it's easy to see why Maurice won't mind playing David to the Western Conference's Goliath in the final round.

"It's not any big concern," Maurice said. "We'll probably have a little fun with it.

"We'll go home, rest the mongrels and see what we can do."

What Carolina might want to do is get either the Wings or Avs into overtime. The Hurricanes, who played the most regular-season overtime games, have won six of seven when sent into extra sessions on their surprising march through the postseason.

On Tuesday at the Air Canada Centre, they worked their OT magic again. This time, the hero was another unlikely candidate. Third-line left wing Martin Gelinas, who in another lifetime was traded for Wayne Gretzky and helped the Oilers win their last Stanley Cup in 1990, potted the series-winner at 8:05 of the extra session.

The winning goal was born when Toronto winger Alexander Mogilny -- who played an otherwise strong game -- tried to clear the puck by winding it around behind his own net. Hurricanes center Josef Vasicek read Mogilny's play and broke for the far corner. He was able to corral Mogilny's clearing attempt, then make a pass to the front of the net, where both Gelinas and right wing Jaroslav Svoboda moved in for the kill. Gelinas finished the bang-bang play by deflecting the pass over Curtis Joseph's pad.

Citing Gelinas' missed overtime opportunity against Boston in a first-round series in 1999, Maurice believed it was fitting the veteran winger scored the goal that propelled the franchise into its first Cup finals.

"It's never the guys you think," Maurice said. "But, it was appropriate for Marty. He's worked so hard. He deserves a little sunshine."

Maurice, though, didn't have any idea as to why his team was so good in overtime. Right wing Jeff O'Neill, however, came up with an explanation.

"We have a good defensive system and we crash the net a lot," said O'Neill, who scored Carolina's first goal and had several other scoring chances. "That's a good recipe for overtime goals, just throw it at the net."

Now, after a few days off, these happy underdogs will get to face their biggest challenge yet. And, they know it.

"We know we are going to play against a better and stronger team," said goalie Arturs Irbe, who was superb throughout the series, allowing just six goals in the six games. "I guess in a way we were not supposed to be here.

"But we always have found a way to find the heroes at the right time and in the right games," Irbe added. "It's a great feeling because this is a team, with a capital T."

So, this team will be an underdog. But so far, betting against the Hurricanes hasn't been a winning proposition.

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