Hurricanes back where they want to be, fueled by past Stanley Cup Playoff setbacks
The look on Brett Pesce’s face was part disappointment and part disbelief.
“To be honest, I still feel like we have a game today,” the Carolina Hurricanes defenseman said.
That was a year ago, two days after the Hurricanes had lost Game 7 to the New York Rangers in the second round of the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was said on the day the Rangers, not the Canes, began play against Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference final.
PNC Arena was a silent, somber place that day as players held exit interviews, the Hurricanes’ season done.
“The best teams find ways to win, no matter how you do it, and we didn’t do that,” Pesce said that day.
The Hurricanes have found ways to win this year, this time in the playoffs. They’ll start play Thursday in the Eastern Conference final against the Florida Panthers, in what again will be a sold-out, very loud building.
“Obviously, we’ve had really good teams the past five years,” Pesce said this week “To be honest, it’s been a little disappointing getting bumped in the second round for three years in a row.”
The Canes have reached this point, eight wins away from the Stanley Cup, without injured forward Andrei Svechnikov and for most of the first two playoff series without injured forward Teuvo Teravainen.
They beat the New York Islanders, a tough, veteran team. They beat the New Jersey Devils with all their youthful skill and hubris. The Boston Bruins are gone. The Rangers, gone.
The Hurricanes reached the Eastern Conference final in 2019, Rod Brind’Amour’s first as head coach, before losing to the Bruins. They’re back again — older, hardened by experience, more determined.
“It definitely feels different,” Brind’Amour said Wednesday. “We’re five years into the same core group and these guys have grown up in this time of year, playing. We have a lot of setbacks. We didn’t reach where we want to go. That’s what’s fueling this group right now.”
Carolina’s slogan has been “Never Compromise,” and it’s not just a promotional gimmick. Brind’Amour never made excuses or compromises as a player. Nor does his team.
No Svechnikov? Jack Drury jumped into the lineup.
No Teravainen? Mackenzie MacEachern jumped in during the playoffs.
“You’re always going to face some adversity with some of the injuries,” Don Waddell, the Canes president and general manager, said Wednesday. “Rod obviously has these guys going in the right direction and you win as a team. You don’t win individually. Right now, we’re going well as a team.”
With Tervavainen back and seemingly good to go, Drury was used at Wednesday’s practice on the Paul Stastny line, replacing MacEachern, while Teravainen played opposite winger Martin Necas on Jordan Staal’s line.
The Hurricanes had a full complement of players at the practice at PNC Arena, including goalies Frederik Andersen, Antti Raanta and Pyotr Kochetkov. Svechnikov also was at practice, watching from the bench in a hoodie and offering encouragement as he continues to work his way back from knee surgery.
Andersen is expected to make his seventh consecutive playoff start and face the Panthers’ Sergei Bobrovsky, who has emerged as a viable Conn Smythe Trophy candidate as playoff MVP.
The Canes believe they can win the Cup. So do the Panthers after beating the Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs to reach this point.
“Yeah, we hope to finish it all off and obviously we have a lot of work to do.” Staal said. “There are a lot more ups and downs to battle through, but we’re ready for it.”
It’s time to sound the siren, again, in the Eastern Conference final.
This story was originally published May 18, 2023 at 6:10 AM.
