Rematch! Hurricanes’ first-round playoffs opponent narrowed down to two familiar teams
The Carolina Hurricanes don’t know who’ll they face in the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs.
What the Canes do know is that it will be either the Washington Capitals or the Boston Bruins. And either way, it will be a rematch from last year’s playoffs.
The Canes finished off a three-game sweep of the New York Rangers on Tuesday in Toronto, winning their best-of-five qualifying round series. That earned them a spot in the 16-team Stanley Cup playoffs and a first-round matchup against one of the top four teams in the Eastern Conference.
The Tampa Bay Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers, Caps and Bruins have been competing in a three-game round robin tournament to determine the top four seeds. The Lightning and Flyers both are 2-0-0 while the Caps are 0-1-1 and the Bruins 0-2-0.
The Pittsburgh Penguins, seeded fifth in the Eastern Conference, were ousted Friday by the 12th-seeded Montreal Canadiens in their qualifying round. The Canadiens, the 12th seeds, won 2-0 on Friday.
The Canes, who were seeded sixth, moved up to No. 5 and will play the No. 4 seed. The Caps face the Bruins in their final round-robin game, with the loser facing the Canes.
The first-round games are scheduled to begin Tuesday at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena.
A year ago, the Canes knocked out the Caps in the opening round of the playoffs, winning a Game 7 thriller in a second overtime. Carolina swept the New York Islanders in the second round to move into the Eastern Conference finals against Boston, only to be swept by the Bruins.
“You know your opponent, whether it’s Washington or Boston, it’s pretty clear we know these are two of the best teams in the league,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Friday in his media call. “We know we’re up against it. I still think it’s about right now making sure our game is sharp.”
The Canes could have defenseman Dougie Hamilton back in the lineup. Brind’Amour said. Hamilton was injured during postseason training camp in Raleigh and not able to play in the Rangers series, but has returned to practice in Toronto.
“I’m not sure 100 percent when he’ll be ready,” Brind’Amour said. “It’s on him, kind of. We’re gauging it off how he feels. You hope four to five days from now he’ll be that much better.”
This story was originally published August 7, 2020 at 7:36 AM.
