3 reasons the Carolina Hurricanes didn't win the Stanley Cup
The Carolina Hurricanes have been eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Carolina Hurricanes are out. They made it out of the first round after beating the New York Islanders but they couldn't get past the other team from The Big Apple.
The New York Rangers took them down in six games. Carolina had people thinking they were going to do something special. Only four teams in NHL history have ever come back to win a series after being down 3-0.
Carolina went down 3-0 and then won games four and five. They also had a 3-1 lead in game six but were unable to close it out.
Now, the Hurricanes are out in six games and won't be winning the Stanley Cup. These are the three biggest reasons why they are done:
The Carolina Hurricanes made it hard on themselves going down 3-0
There is a reason that only four NHL teams have ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in a seven-game series. One MLB team has done it and 0 NBA teams have.
The Hurricanes certainly made it interesting as they were one period away from forcing game seven but the Rangers came back and won.
When you go down 3-0, you can't afford one 3rd period meltdown for the rest of the series. If it were a bit closer and the Canes played better earlier, things might have played out differently here.
There is something to be said about the way that Carolina played once they were down 3-0 but it is very difficult to keep it going with your back against the wall like that. With every little mistake being so important, it is hard to win.
Chris Kreider took the Carolina Hurricanes out of the postseason
The New York Rangers have a lot of players who played well against the Carolina Hurricanes. With that said, few skaters impacted the series the way that Chris Kreider did.
The Hurricanes had no answers for the New York Rangers forward. That is especially true for game six of this matchup.
The Hurricanes had a 3-1 lead going into the third period but Kreider took over from there. It started with a goal that was a result of his tenacity to make it 3-2.
After that, he scored on a beautiful redirect to tie it up. He then completed the natural hat trick (all in the third period) with the go-ahead goal. It was a truly spectacular performance.
In the series as a whole, the Canes allowed Kreider to have five goals and two assists for seven points in six games. He was masterful out there and the Hurricanes are not winning the Cup as a result.
The Carolina Hurricanes lost the goaltending duel in this series
The New York Rangers have Igor Shesterkin who is one of the best goalies in the world. The Russian netminder would make it to the Hall of Fame if he played another ten years at this level. It is possible.
In this series, Shesterkin had a 4-2 record with a .919 save percentage. It was a very good series for him. He dominated and made the Rangers a much better team.
On the other side, the Hurricanes used both Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov. Andersen played five of the six games and went 2-3 with a .878 save percentage. Kochetkov played one game and gave up 3 goals on 25 shots.
It was clear that the goaltending made a difference in this series. It can be looked at as a big reason that the Canes lost it. They also won't be winning the Stanley Cup as a result.
Going into the summer, the Hurricanes have some things to figure out with their front office, coaching staff, and roster. These three things that kept them from winning the Cup in 2024 will be near the top of mind for decision-makers there.
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