Hurricanes’ Eastern Conference Final schedule released … sort of. What we know

The Carolina Hurricanes will start their next round of the NHL playoffs Tuesday.

Or Thursday.

That will depend on what happens over the next few days between the Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens.

The Sabres and Canadiens will play at least six games in their best-of-seven second-round series. Game 6 is slated for Saturday at 8 p.m. If the series ends Saturday with either a Buffalo or Montreal win, the Canes will host the winner of that series in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final on Tuesday, May 19.

If the series extends to a seventh game, which would be played on Monday, May 18., the Canes would host Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final on Thursday, May 21.

If the series begins Tuesday, the Hurricanes will have endured — or benefited from — nine full days off. If it’s Thursday? Make that 11 days since their most recent game, the Game 4 clincher in Ottawa on Saturday, May 9.

“Recovery in the playoffs … you just don’t get that luxury all that often,” defenseman K’Andre Miller said Tuesday. “Any time you can get away from the rink and put up your legs and get your mind away from the ice and a stick and a puck is nice and is a good reset.”

Added head coach Rod Brind’Amour: “It’s important for the guys to stay physically sharp, but mentally it’s OK to kind of get away from it a little bit because the playoffs are a grind mentally and physically,” Brind’Amour said. “I think the mental rest is actually probably better for us than the physical rest.”

Canes captain Jordan Staal noted that after the break following the Ottawa series, the Canes jumped right back into play and took a 3-0 win over the Flyers in Game 1, scoring twice in the first period.

“I think the guys were sharp,” Staal said. “We had a good week of working out and practicing and getting the bodies right. We’ll try to do the same and hopefully have the same start.”

NHL Eastern Conference Final schedule

*If Buffalo/Montreal ends in Game 6

*If necessary

*If Buffalo/Montreal ends in Game 7

*If necessary

This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 7:48 PM.

Justin Pelletier

The News & Observer

Justin is a 25-year veteran sports journalist with stops in Lewiston, Maine (Sun Journal), and Boston (Boston Herald). A proud husband, and father of twin girls, Pelletier is a Boston University graduate and member of the esteemed Jack Falla sportswriting mafia. He has earned dozens of state and national sportswriting and editing awards covering preps, colleges and professional leagues.

Chip Alexander

The News & Observer

919-829-8945

In more than 40 years at The N&O, Chip Alexander has covered the N.C. State, UNC, Duke and East Carolina beats, and now is in his 15th season on the Carolina Hurricanes beat. Alexander, who has won numerous writing awards at the state and national level, covered the Hurricanes’ move to North Carolina in 1997 and was a part of The N&O’s coverage of the Canes’ 2006 Stanley Cup run.