The Carolina Hurricanes are headed to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they will face the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers. The series begins this Tuesday in the Lenovo Center at 8 p.m. EST on TNT and TruTV.
The Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers will face off for the second time in three years. The Canes will be fully rested in this series after a dominant second-round performance against the Washington Capitals. The Panthers, on the other hand, are coming off a difficult series. They had to recover from a 2-0 series deficit to reach the conference final for the third consecutive year.
The playoffs are nearing an end, and teams are starting to show the wear and tear of playoff hockey. Canes defenseman Jalen Chatfield missed game five due to an injury earlier in the series. Another blue-liner in Shayne Gostisbehere, took a nasty slash to the wrist, which has been bothering him. Panthers superstar forward Matthew Tkachuk, who was already sidelined for the majority of the season due to the Four Nations Face-Off, picked up another injury during their series with Toronto, which has shown in his performances. Tkachuk did not score at all in the second round, leading people to wonder how serious the injury is.
As stated earlier, the Panthers and Toronto series went the distance with the Panthers winning, but how exactly? Their biggest factor was their depth. Players like Eetu Luostarinen, Brad Marchand, and Anton Lundell all single-handedly destroyed the Toronto Maple Leafs. Over the past couple of years, the Panthers have been known for their deep forward core, and the acquisition of Brad Marchand has added even more strength to the middle six.
The Canes’ key to success was defense and goaltending. The Canes only allowed one power-play goal against the Caps and held them to under ten goals in those five games. The Hurricanes played suffocating defense and did not allow the Capitals to create any high-danger chances. When they had a select few chances, Goaltender Frederik Andersen shut those chances down. Andersen has been the best goaltender in the playoffs with a GAA of 1.36 and a save percentage of .937. These stats lead all goaltenders in the playoffs.
Both teams will bring physical presence and pressuring defense throughout the series. The Canes and Panthers have very similar play styles in terms of suffocating defense and physicality. This series will be long and entertaining. It will be interesting to see how this series closes.
