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.