{"id":683,"date":"2026-05-21T14:07:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T14:07:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=683"},"modified":"2026-05-21T14:07:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T14:07:07","slug":"the-carolina-hurricanes-are-back-in-a-conference-final-is-it-win-now-or-never","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=683","title":{"rendered":"The Carolina Hurricanes are back in a conference final. Is it \u2018win now or never\u2019?"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

That the Carolina Hurricanes went 53-22-7 in the NHL\u2019s 2025-26 regular season is of little consequence now, right?<\/p>\n

Read more 6 bears killed within 2 weeks as home break-ins rise in one NC county, state says<\/a><\/p>\n

Well \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cThe season is so long, and there\u2019s that 82-game season we talk about that no one really gives much credit to, and yet this team has played well for eight months,\u201d Canes head coach Rod Brind\u2019Amour said last week. \u201cIt didn\u2019t just get hot at the end. It\u2019s been night in and night out like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

How about eight wins against zero losses in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs\u2019 first two rounds?<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the impressive part, how we\u2019ve gone about it,\u201d Brind\u2019Amour said. \u201cObviously we\u2019re getting some huge performances, but everybody\u2019s doing it. That\u2019s how we have to get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n

So those records matter, to a point. Both are impressive \u2014 the regular-season mark is the Hurricanes\u2019 second-best, and the back-to-back sweeps are an NHL first since the playoff format change in 1987.<\/p>\n

But \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to do all eight wins again, just to get to the end,\u201d defender Jaccob Slavin said. \u201cIt\u2019s just another step.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what about \u201c1-16\u201d? Does that<\/i> record matter?<\/p>\n

(For those wondering, \u201c1-16\u201d is the Hurricanes\u2019 record in their four previous Eastern Conference Final trips.)<\/p>\n

That futility \u2014 and there is no other word for it, really \u2014 will only matter in the way those addressing it choose to perceive it.<\/p>\n

But of course it matters<\/i>, the same as the other records do. That is to say, it matters greatly in the macro \u2014 in the season and franchise narratives; but very little in the micro \u2014 neither in the immediacy nor the immediate future.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s begin with the broader narrative, because that\u2019s where the national discourse always seems to start.<\/p>\n

The Hurricanes\u2019 eight consecutive trips to the NHL playoffs is the second-longest active streak in the NHL. Carolina\u2019s eight consecutive seasons with a first-round series win is by far the longest streak in the league right now, third all time, and best ever under the current playoff format.<\/p>\n

Four trips to the Eastern Conference Final in those eight years, including this year, is nothing to sneeze at either.<\/p>\n

However (and it\u2019s a big \u201chowever\u201d\u2026) many pundits and detractors are quick to point out that the Canes are 1-12 in those games, and 1-16 overall in the conference final round since hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2006.<\/p>\n

In 2009, the Pittsburgh Penguins, with a young, spry Sid the Kid, ran over the remaining shell of that 2006 team on their way to a Stanley Cup title.<\/p>\n

In 2019, a plucky, upstart \u201cBunch of Jerks\u201d weaseled their way into the conference final against Boston, which promptly dismantled a Canes team admittedly punching above its weight class in its return to postseason play.<\/p>\n

In 2023, the Canes were swept by the Florida Panthers in a series that wasn\u2019t a sweep, according to Brind\u2019Amour. He took some heat for that comment, which was only meant to articulate that the Canes lost four one-goal games.<\/p>\n

In 2025, Carolina finally won a playoff game against Florida after going down three games to none, and did so with a shutout. The Canes also went ahead 2-0 in Game 5, only to lose.<\/p>\n

Read more Walls that will hold up I-40 through Pigeon River Gorge begin to take shape<\/a><\/p>\n

Again.<\/p>\n

As it relates to this year\u2019s group, the first four of those losses matter not at all. Seventeen years is a long time. One could also argue the 2019 setback matters nothing, either. Only five players \u2014 Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, Jordan Martinook, Jaccob Slavin and Jordan Staal \u2014 on this year\u2019s team were on the team that season, and only Staal had deep playoff experience.<\/p>\n

The most recent nine games, though? Some memories are longer than others.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the only games from that \u201c1-16\u201d mark that matter to this year\u2019s team are the most recent five. That\u2019s because 18 current Carolina Hurricanes were on last year\u2019s team that lost, 4-1, to the Panthers. Eleven of those 18 were in Raleigh in 2023. That experience has added to the players\u2019 hunger.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a good group in here who\u2019s all been there before now, and everyone knows what to expect, and what is expected of us,\u201d Slavin said, \u201cso we have to make sure we go in with the right mindset and continue to chip away and work hard like we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Hurricanes\u2019 work ethic under Brind\u2019Amour has never been in question.<\/p>\n

Early in his run, roster construction wasn\u2019t perfect, with many players inherited from previous regimes and team owner Tom Dundon working his way toward his yearly spend-to-the-salary-cap philosophy \u2014 to his credit, a stark departure from the \u201clean years.\u201d<\/p>\n

One could also argue that even as the Hurricanes, first under Don Waddell and now Eric Tulsky, steadily built a roster to fit their style under Brind\u2019Amour, the team\u2019s overall health was never quite where it needed to be. Frederik Andersen stood on his head in 2023, posting a save percentage of .921 over three starts. But Svechnikov was out for the season by that point, hurting the team\u2019s chemistry and depth up front. Teuvo Terravainen played just six playoff games.<\/p>\n

In 2024, a lack of defensive depth bit the Canes in the second round against the Rangers, and in 2025, again against Florida, it was again a rash of playoff injuries that contributed to the team\u2019s downfall, to go with inconsistent goaltending.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey understand there is (another level to get to),\u201d Brind\u2019Amour said of this year\u2019s team. \u201cThere\u2019s going to need to be whenever we get to that next stage, or whoever we\u2019re playing. One of the things about this group, they\u2019re an honest group. They can assess their game, and their team game, and even though we won, they know we can get a little better.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2025-26 season didn\u2019t start out much better. Pyotr Kochetkov and Frederik Andersen dealt with early injury woes. Rookie-but-not-rookie Brandon Bussi emerged as the most stable option in net for most of the year.<\/p>\n

Jaccob Slavin never really got on the ice at full strength until after the Olympic break. Early in the season, a rotating cacophony of defenders patrolled the blue line for the Canes \u2014 10, in all, not counting Slavin.<\/p>\n

But this time, the Canes acquired, and nurtured, depth to meet the moment. This time, a slump or two didn\u2019t define the season. This time, the Hurricanes arrived at the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs as healthy as they had since Brind\u2019Amour\u2019s tenure behind the bench had begun.<\/p>\n

In Return of the Jedi, Emperor Palpatine toyed with Luke Skywalker in springing a trap on the rebel alliance, which thought it had surprised a weakened Death Star:<\/p>\n

\u201cNow witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational battle station.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

With apologies to George Lucas, teams in the Eastern Conference are seeing a fully armed and operational Carolina team.<\/p>\n

In Round 1? A sweep, and plenty of time off to rest Andersen \u2014 and everyone else.<\/p>\n

In Round 2? Another sweep. NHL history, and again, more rest. Most importantly, health.<\/p>\n

And now? Healthy, rested and with the proper attitude, the Hurricanes are primed to do what they have not been able to do in 20 years: reach the Stanley Cup Final.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to find a way to get that next step,\u201d Brind\u2019Amour said. \u201cThat\u2019s obviously easier said than done. I know one thing is, they\u2019re going to give that same effort, and that\u2019s what we have to have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more NC House votes to override Stein veto on tax break tied to private school tuition<\/a><\/p>\n

If not now, if not this season, when?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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