The Carolina Hurricanes don’t participate in the Stanley Cup playoffs that often, but when they do manage to reach the postseason they definitely make the best of the situation. The Hurricanes fought back from a 3-2 deficit to the Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals in the first round this season to win the series in seven games and then used the momentum to steamroll the New York Islanders in four straight in the second round. It was the first time the Carolina franchise had won a four-game series in four straight.
This is the club’s first playoff appearance since 2008/09 and just the fourth time they’ve played in the spring since 2001. However, in the previous three playoff appearances they managed to reach the Eastern Conference Final each time and in 2005/06 captured the Stanley Cup. The sweep over the Islanders puts them back in the Eastern Final for the fourth consecutive time when making the playoffs. Carolina outscored The Islanders 13-5 in their series even though starting goaltender Petr Mrazek was injured during the second game.
With Mrazek on the sidelines head coach Rod Brind’Amour replaced him in the crease with 35-year-old journeyman Curtis McElhinney. When the veteran started game three of the series he became the oldest goalie to start his first playoff game. Les Binkley of the Pittsburgh Penguins set the previous record back in 1970, but McElhinney was 37 days older than Binkley when he got the nod for his first playoff start.
The Hurricanes didn’t lose a beat without Mrazek as McElhinney went 3-0 in the series and posted a goals-against average of 1.56 along with a save percentage of 94.7. Carolina will play the winner of the Columbus Blue Jackets vs Boston Bruins series for the Eastern Conference title and there’s a good chance Mrazek will be ready to return in that series. Carolina has been red hot at home in the postseason with a record of 5-0 and they’re getting some timely scoring from youngsters and veterans alike.
Nineteen-year-old rookie Andrei Svechnikov is back in the squad after suffering a concussion in the Washington series and has four points in five playoff games. Thirty-year-old Jordan Staal has chipped in with four goals and five assists and 37-year-old Justin Williams has three goals and three assists in 11 games each. Twenty-one-year-old year-old Sebastian Aho has four goals and five helpers and 24-year-old year-old Teuvo Teravainen has chipped in with six goals and three assists.
In addition, the Hurricanes are getting plenty of offence from their blue liners as Dougie Hamilton has three goals and seven points while Jaccob Slavin leads the team in assists and points with 11. Brett Pesce and Justin Faulk also have six points each. One of the biggest surprises though has been the play 23-year-old rookie Warren Foegele who has contributed five goals and four assists and is a plus-7. His nine playoff points place him in a tie with Erik Cole as the most in a postseason by a Carolina rookie. Cole set the original record in 2001/02 and also holds the rookie record for playoff goals in a season with six.
Foegele was chosen by Carolina in the third round of the 2014 draft with the 67th overall pick and the 6-foot-2-inch, 190 lb power forward scored 10 goals and five assists in the regular season with a minus-17 rating. Foegele, of Markham, Ontario, is no stranger to playoff hockey though as he was named the most valuable player in the postseason for 2016/17 as a member of the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters when he scored 13 goals and 26 points in 22 games.
If Foegele can keep it up, the rest of the Hurricanes continue to play determined, physical hockey and the team’s goaltending holds out there’s a chance the team returns to the Stanley Cup final in just their second playoff appearance since winning the cup 13 years ago.