How Hurricanes’ emphatic NHL playoff sweep proved they can handle the rough stuff
In sweeping the Ottawa Senators out of the playoffs, the Carolina Hurricanes proved a point, to a certain degree.
In short, push and there will be pushback. The Canes are not to be trifled with.
The Senators learned that the hard way in losing four straight games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Captain Brady Tkachuk picked a fight with Canes captain Jordan Staal after the opening faceoff of Game 1 and lost. That, in turn, set the tone for the rest of the series, which ended with the Canes’ 4-2 win Saturday in Ottawa.
“Our team stepped up to the challenge,” defenseman Sean Walker said Tuesday as the Canes resumed practice while waiting for their next playoff opponent to be determined.
“It comes with the territory. The intensity level is brought to another level in the playoffs. I thought our team did a good job in matching their energy, if not leading in that area. … It was hard, as physical a series as I’ve been a part of. Every shift was a battle, but that was expected.”
It wasn’t just about energy in the second period of Game 4 on Saturday. Things got nasty on the ice. There were scrums all over the ice as the referees tried to get things under control.
Second-period sucker punch
Walker had a cut on the bridge of his nose, blood trickling down it. At one point during a melee midway through the period, he was sucker-punched in the stomach by the Sens’ Ridly Greig while Warren Foegele had him tied up in a headlock.
“I don’t think that’s hockey,” Canes forward Jackson Blake said Tuesday of the second period. “I like the physical part of the game and all that, but when it gets over the top …”
Video of Greig quickly went viral on social media and he was called out by many for his over-the-top sneak attack on Walker.
During a panel discussion on Sportsnet’s Hockey Central, Greig’s actions were called “gutless and disgusting.”
Walker said Tuesday he had seen replays of the Greig punch, but said, “I don’t think I need to make any comments on it. I think everybody saw what happened.”
Told there had been plenty of comments about it, he said, “Yep, and I think a lot of comments were accurate. I’ll leave it at that.”
Greig’s punch went undetected by the officials on the ice, but he will have a May 4 hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.
Brind’Amour, as he has in the past, again made an appeal Tuesday for having an off-ice official at games to help review such plays., saying, “We need to look at it way more seriously, because number one, the safety of players. ... Just get it right.”
Hurricanes on the mend
Injured during the second period of Game 4 was Canes defenseman Alexander Nikishin, who absorbed a huge hit from the Sens’ Tyler Kleven and needed assistance leaving the ice. Nikishin, who did not return to the game, was diagnosed with a concussion but returned with the team from Ottawa.
The Canes will face the winner of the Philadelphia Flyers-Pittsburgh Penguins first-round series. The Flyers won the first three games and were on the verge of their own playoff sweep, but the Pens then won the next two to extend it.
With the extra time, Canes took Sunday and Monday off before Tuesday’s practice. Nikishin was not at practice as he goes through the concussion protocol, and remains sidelined indefinitely.
“Everything’s trending in the right direction,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Tuesday.
Forward Nikolaj Ehlers missed Game 4 with a lower-body injury and also did not practice Tuesday. Brind’Amour said he was hopeful both Ehlers and Nikishin will be good to go when the second-round series begins.
Brind’Amour isn’t sure how beneficial the layoff between will be, although practice time is always seen as a plus by the coaches.
“We’ll see,” Brind’Amour said. “We like having a few days for sure to heal some bumps and bruises, but when you’re playing pretty well and pretty dialed in, you run the risk of being a little rusty. But it’s out of our control.”
