The Carolina Hurricanes can only simulate a game environment in so many ways during practice, and they've gotten plenty of it over the last two weeks. The Canes finished their sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, May 9, bringing us close to double-digit days between series. By the time they take the ice again for Game 1, it'll have felt like a month.
With back-to-back sweeps to open the postseason, the Hurricanes have accomplished something that hasn't been done since the format changed in the late 1980s. However, despite this success, their track record in recent conference finals is the only thing that matters. The Canes are still trying to prove to everyone around the league that they are legitimate threats to win the Stanley Cup.
To achieve the next step, they have to navigate a round that has been unkind to them since winning the Stanley Cup in 2006. You all know their record in the third round, so I won't bother mentioning it, but it'll be said at least a dozen times per night. It's up to the team to change the narrative and "get over the hump" for the first time in 20 years.
Their opponent in the Eastern Conference Finals has taken the long road to get to this point. In both series, the Montreal Canadiens have gone to seven games, and in both series, Alex Newhook was the hero. On Monday night, he scored the overtime winner in Game 7 against the Sabres to stun the Buffalo crowd after Buffalo worked back from a 2-0 first-period deficit.
The Canadiens swept the Hurricanes during the regular season, including a pair of games in Raleigh. Sebastian Aho's second-career five-point game was spoiled by some truly inept defensive work in a 7-5 loss on New Year's Day. Jakub Dobes was the story during both of their March wins, keeping the Hurricanes in check while the Canadiens' top line carved them up.
This will be the third collision between the Canes and the Canadiens since the team's relocation in 1997. Montreal had Hartford's number, beating them four times in seven years in the postseason. However, the Canes have won both encounters since moving, winning the 2002 Conference Semifinals and the 2006 Conference Quarterfinals in six games each.
Obviously, the big matchup to watch will be between each team's top lines. As I said, Montreal's trio was excellent against Carolina during the regular season, and the Canes' group hasn't been very noticeable for most of the playoffs. It's something they'll need to remedy if they want to play for the honor of hoisting the Stanley Cup.
With Monday's epic conclusion to the second round, the pieces are in place. We know the venue. We know the day. We know the time. Now, we finally know the opponent. Thursday night at the Lenovo Center is going to be insane. The fans have been waiting impatiently to see Hurricanes hockey back on their screens. The final two in the East will put it all on the line for conference supremacy.
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