We've already done a deep dive into the best moments from the regular season, so let's turn our attention to the two-month ride that followed. The season ended with the Carolina Hurricanes on top of the hockey world, and it wasn't without its thrills. The Canes needed 19 games to win the Stanley Cup, the second-fewest of any team since 1987.
During those 19 games, the Canes were tested mightily. They went to overtime seven times, and they required some outstanding goaltending from Frederik Andersen and Brandon Bussi. Initially, this was a Top 10 list, but it was very Cup Final heavy. Instead, here are three moments from each of their four series that helped shape their Stanley Cup run.
1st Round vs. Ottawa
1. The captains engage in Game 1 fisticuffs: During the build-up to this series, many were convinced that the Senators' physicality and grit would be a big factor, making them a somewhat popular upset pick over the East's top team. The Canes aren't a group who'll back down from a fight easily, and their captain showed that right from the drop of the puck.
Jordan Staal accepted Brady Tkachuk's offer to drop the mitts when Game 1 began, and I'd give the edge to the Canes' captain for landing a solid punch and taking down Tkachuk. It certainly set the tone for the home team. They'd go on to win the opening game of the postseason, 2-0, behind a great effort from the Stankoven line, which we'd grow accustomed to over the next two months.
2. Martinook ends a wild Game 2 in 2OT: We can talk for days about whether Mark Jankowski's goal in overtime should've counted. I'm not convinced that Jordan Staal was really offside, though that's neither here nor there. The league said it didn't count, so they played on. They still got a penalty shot out of it, and Jordan Martinook was stopped, so they had their chances.
I'm happy that Martinook got the chance to redeem himself in double overtime. As became customary for them during this run, Game 2 going to overtime was a regular thing, which also meant that the Canes were going to win it. Martinook's shot beat Linus Ullmark, with the screen in front playing a big part in it, sending the Canes to Ottawa in control of the series.
3. Miller, Blake silence the Ottawa crowd: Game 3 was Ottawa's best chance to show a little life. To their credit, they did exactly that, thanks to continued brilliance from Ullmark between the pipes. The Senators' offense didn't give him much to work with, though they scored a goal late in the second period and appeared poised to go into the third tied.
K'Andre Miller and Jackson Blake had different plans. 83 seconds after Ottawa got on the board, Miller froze the Senators by looking like he was about to fire the puck at the net. Instead, he waited for a seam to open up. On the receiving end of it was Blake, who snapped it past a diving Ullmark, restoring the Canes' lead. They'd go on to win Game 3, 2-1, before finishing the sweep two days later.
2nd Round vs. Philadelphia
1. Blake tears through the Philly D: It's crazy that the break between the first and second rounds wouldn't be the Canes' longest this postseason. Still, a week between games can feel like a month during the playoffs. The Canes came out of the chute in Game 1 against the Flyers ready to go. Once again, it was the Stankoven line setting the tone offensively.
After Logan Stankoven got it going early, Jackson Blake added to the lead with a beautiful individual effort. He sped past the Flyers' defense and fended off an Olympic defenseman. Blake fanned on his initial chance, but he was still in a good enough position to slide the puck around Dan Vladar's pad on the second chance. With an early 2-0 lead, that's all that the Canes needed to open the series.
2. Jarvis makes his presence felt, ties Game 2: The Hurricanes didn't face their first in-game deficit until Game 2 of the second round, falling into a 2-0 hole after a pair of quick strikes from Philadelphia. However, the Canes are never truly out of a game. They got one back in the first period, but the 2-1 deficit remained until the third period.
To this point, the top line still hadn't found its groove. With his team in a tough spot, Seth Jarvis made his presence felt. The lines had been moved around to create something new offensively, and that's what happened. Jarvis snapped a shot from the right dot past Vladar, tying the game at two and making way for the Canes to win the contest in overtime, 3-2, for the second round in a row.
3. Back-to-back sweeps in the books: Their series against the Flyers was the least exciting of the bunch, which isn't the worst thing in the world for Carolina. Still, things remained tight until the very end. Like Game 2, Game 4 would require the Canes to come back from an early deficit and win the game in overtime.
Jackson Blake, once again, was a central figure in the Canes' efforts. He scored the tying goal in the second period and picked up an assist when they took the lead in the third. In overtime, it was his shot that sent the Canes to the Eastern Conference Finals. Blake got a good amount on his wrister, and Vladar got a piece of it, but it popped into the air and over the line, sending the team into a frenzy.
Eastern Conference Finals vs. Montreal
1. Ehlers knots the series in Game 2: After getting caved in early in Game 1, the Canes needed to come back with a vengeance in the second game. They played a sturdy defensive game, allowing just 12 shots, but because it was Game 2 of the series, the Canes had to contend with overtime in a 2-2 game. Nikolaj Ehlers was the night's hero this time.
Ehlers had already scored a gorgeous goal in the game, dangling through a few Canadiens to give the Canes the lead in the second. In overtime, he received a pass with speed in the neutral zone and snapped it past Jakub Dobes, tying the series at a game apiece. In my opinion, this was the most important goal of the playoffs, giving us hope that the Canes might actually get over the hump.
2. Svechnikov continues the OT magic: The defensive effort remained in place for Game 3, with the Canes only allowing 13 shots this time around. However, they still struggled to find a consistent answer for Dobes, who stifled many of their best chances through 60 minutes. Tied at two once more, the Canes required overtime for a fifth time in 11 games.
One of the best parts of this run was that a different player stepped up each time the game went to overtime. Andrei Svechnikov was the fifth different goal scorer in overtime for the Canes to this point, snapping a shot from beyond the right dot past a screened Dobes. The win gave Carolina a 2-1 series lead and all of the momentum in the world.
3. Robinson ices the Habs for good: The Canes' offense finally figured some things out in Game 4, scoring three times in quick succession in the first period on their way to a 4-0 win. Back at home and looking to close it out, they got right back to it in Game 5. The Canes blitzed the Canadiens from the jump, emphatically preventing a return trip to Montreal.
The dagger came late in the opening frame from the team's best line throughout the Eastern Conference Finals. William Carrier lofted the puck from the corner. He got it far enough down the ice for Eric Robinson to skate into it for a breakaway. Robinson wasted little time getting it off his stick, beating Dobes between his pads to extend the lead to three in a 6-1 Prince of Wales-clinching win.
Stanley Cup Final vs. Vegas
1. Jarvis sends the Canes to Vegas tied: Four Game 2s. Four overtime games. Clearly, there was something in the water. The Canes were on the losing side of Game 1, watching a 2-0 lead wash away before the Golden Knights scored the winner late in regulation. In Game 2, the script changed in the Canes' favor. They went from down 2-0 to up 3-2 before Vegas forced overtime.
The importance of this goal was twofold. First, it helped the power play get rolling for real. Second, it gave Seth Jarvis a signature moment in a big game. His one-timer from the dot was pretty, as were the shot fake from Shayne Gostisbehere and the jump to sell the fake shot from Nikolaj Ehlers. For the first time in 20 years, the Canes had a win in the Stanley Cup Final.
2. Bussi gets thrown right into the fire: You might've heard by now that the Hurricanes didn't win Game 3, despite the furious comeback they put together in the third period, erasing a 4-0 deficit. However, for many reasons, this game proved to be the series' turning point. A big reason for that was Brandon Bussi's insertion into the series for the injured Frederik Andersen.
There was no easing into it for Bussi, who was making his first NHL postseason appearance. He faced an early test from Mark Stone before Mitch Marner was awarded a penalty shot, looking for his fourth goal. Bussi was not impressed. He matched Marner's speed and thwarted him on his backhand, giving his team a chance to start a comeback and welcoming Bussi to the Stanley Cup Final.
3. Staal scores the biggest goal of his life: During the Stanley Cup Final, Jordan Staal was all over the place, putting forth the best series of his career at the best time possible. He'd scored in the first three games, and he already had one in this game, poking home a shot on the power play to make it a 3-1 game. In the third, the game was tied at three, and the series was still very much in the balance.
The play that won them the series came off Staal's skate. It led to a turnover and a chance for Seth Jarvis, who was denied. He kept pursuing, knocking it loose for Nikolaj Ehlers. He slid it to Staal, who put a backhand into the net as he was falling to his stomach. The goal helped the Canes win the game, but this was the point when the team took over for good, on the way to the Stanley Cup.
Add us as a preferred source on Google