Those bunch of jerks proved everyone wrong once again. The Carolina Hurricanes, after sweeping the New York Islanders, are off to the Conference Final.
The Carolina Hurricanes weren’t done after knocking the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals off their throne. Now they’ve unseated the New York Islanders, coached by Stanley Cup Champion Barry Trotz, in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Canes did so in an impressive effort, winning Game 4 5-2. After defeating the Capitals in seven games, it only took them four games to undo the Islanders. For the first time since 2009, Carolina is heading to the Eastern Conference Final. They will face the winner of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Boston Bruins series, which is currently tied 2-2 as of Friday, May 3.
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No matter what has been thrown at the Hurricanes, they’ve had an answer. They deserve a ton of credit from bouncing back from so many injuries. In the first round, the Canes lost Andrei Svechnikov and Michel Ferland. Though Svechnikov eventually came back in Game 3 for them, Carolina also lost starting goalie Petr Mrazek in Game 2. Curtis McElhinney performed admirably in relief.
Ultimately, the Islanders had no answer for the Hurricanes’ speed and depth. Carolina attacked them in waves at home and the vaunted Isles defense couldn’t do anything to stop them. In Game 4, the Canes managed to chase Vezina Trophy Finalist Robin Lehner, who deserved a far better fate.
Carolina now gets some long overdue rest. Of course, they’ll have to be careful to avoid getting rusty, much like the Islanders did after sweeping the Pittsburgh Penguins. But right now, it’s hard to see anything stopping the Canes.
Defenseman Jaccob Slavin had an incredible series and could be the Conn Smythe winner should Carolina win the Stanley Cup. He has played a virtually flawless 200-foot game and, early in Game 4, erased a lot of his teammates’ mistakes.
Star forward Sebastian Aho had four points in Games 3 and 4. Teuvo Teravainen had four points in those two games as well. Together, the Finnish duo gave them a huge spark.
After struggling in Games 1 and 2, the Hurricanes got a huge lift from their home crowd. In the first two games of the series, the Canes scored a combined three goals. But in the last two games, both at home, they scored 10 while allowing just four.
Head coach Rod Brind’Amour proved why he should have been a Jack Adams finalist. In consecutive series, he’s gotten his young squad past the Stanley Cup Champions and a team coached by a Stanley Cup Champion.