As soon as the Lightning were bounced in the opening round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Bruins fans could smell the blood in the water.
Sure, postseason regulars such as the Capitals still loomed large on the Eastern Conference bracket, but with the Presidents’ Trophy winner knocked out of commission, the Bruins figured to at least have more than a puncher’s chance against the rest of the field.
Then … well….
Tampa Bay bowing out against the Blue Jackets — in a sweep, no less — was a shocking turn of events. Seeing all four division winners hit the links before the start of May was simply bananas — and has never happened before in major North American pro sports.
Given the overall rigmarole that this postseason has been, it’s only fitting that the Prince of Wales Trophy is set to go to either the Bruins or … the Hurricanes?
Trading in “Brass Bonanza” for Petey Pablo, this is far from the same franchise that battled the B’s in the Adams Division way back when. But the club formerly known as the Whalers are no joke, even if most of the conversation surrounding the Hurricanes still hovers around the “Storm Surge” or their adopted “Jerks” moniker.
“They’re a great team,” Patrice Bergeron said of their opponent in the Eastern Conference Final. “I think we’ve seen it when we’ve played them. First of all, they’re a team that’s in your face and doesn’t give you much space and is very deep.
“They have some very good puck-moving defensemen. I think it’s going to be a similar series to what we’ve seen so far in the first two, where, like I said, 5v5 is very tight hockey and they have some big bodies too. Physical series and we’re expecting it to be a tough one.”
The Bruins and Hurricanes battled three times during the 2018-19 regular season, but Carolina still stands as a bit of an unknown going into the Thursday’s series opener.
Let’s run through a couple of things to know about the team standing between the Bruins and a trip to the Stanley Cup Final.
Most tired storyline: “Bunch of Jerks?”
Might as well get this out of the way first, because you’re gonna hear about it a lot over the next couple of weeks.
The Hurricanes have drawn the ire of many hockey traditionalists all season thanks to their “Storm Surge” celebrations held after wins on home ice — with the team reveling at PNC Arena with elaborate celebrations, whether it be bowling, dunking, playing the limbo and … fighting Evander Holyfield (?).
In the end, it’s all harmless fun from an NHL club in a non-traditional market, and given the reception and buzz down in Raleigh, the Canes shouldn't have any regrets — even if they continue to ruffle Don Cherry’s feathers.
At this point, "Grapes" probably deserves a stick tap from the Hurricanes, as he provided the “bunch of jerks” label that the Hurricanes have run with to hilarious effect so far during this playoff run.
The Canes’ lighthearted rallying cry will capture plenty of headlines up here in Boston, but this Carolina team is far from a gimmick.
Tale of the tape
With 12 players on the Hurricanes’ roster aged 25 and under, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that
Rod Brind'Amour’s
club went through its fair share of ups and downs during the regular season — with the club rudderless going into the new year with a record of 16-17-5.
Top Player: Jaccob Slavin,
Defenseman
Together, the Hurricanes’ top D-pairing of Slavin and old friend
Dougie Hamilton
have generated a 59.09 CF% (169-117 edge in shot attempts) and have been out on the ice for nine 5v5 goals in 143:10 of TOI so far this postseason. Pretty, pretty good.
“
I think he’s got great vision,”
Patrice Bergeron
said of Slavin. “He anticipates the play very well. He’s got great speed and as offensive as he is, I think he’s very good defensively. He gets back when he does go on the offense on the rush, he does get back pretty quickly. He seems to be a very smart player. He’s definitely one of those players that’s flown under the radar a little bit. I think he’s very underrated — he’s a great player.”
The Thorn In The Side
Sebastian Aho
But Aho, in particular, has had Boston’s number during his short career —
tallying eight goals and 12 total points in nine regular-season matchups against Boston. Brind’Amour could tinker with his forward corps and keep the dynamic winger duo of
Teuvo Teravainen
and
Nino Niederreiter
on the second line, but regardless of the cast, it would seem like Bergeron will get plenty of head-to-head minutes against Aho.
“He’s a key,” B
ruce Cassidy
said of Aho. “You look at their lineup. He’s a guy that’s done some damage. I think in this playoff, they’ve done it as a squad. Not one particular guy. But he is the guy in the O-zone, if you give him time and space, he’s a lot like (
Johnny) Gaudreau
, he can draw people out of the areas and get you impatient and all of the sudden the puck is in the good ice. He gets there as well. He’s got courage. He’s not going to hang around the front of the net, but he gets there when he needs to.”
The X-factor: Warren Foegele,
Winger
Foegele (left) has made major strides so far this postseason for Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images)
In net:
Petr Mrazek
Even when Mrazek went down with an injury during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinal against the Islanders, the Hurricanes continued to roll with
Curtis McElhinney
— with the 35-year-old netminder posting a .947 save percentage for the remainder of the series to close out the sweep.
Even with McElhinney’s strong play between the pipes, the Canes are at their best when Mrazek is on — with the Czech product expected to be ready to go for Game 1 on Thursday.
After winning 12 of his final 15 regular-season starts and posting a .943 save percentage along the way, Mrazek has been steady so far in the postseason — although his goals saved above average rate of -0.070 is:
Not great!
Ranked 14th among all goalies that have appeared in a playoff game
Prior history
It was a tough pill to swallow for the Bruins a decade ago, not only because a dominant 2008-09 campaign went down the drain in the second round, but because of the guy who ended it —
Scott Walker.
Walker, who delivered a sucker punch to
Aaron Ward
during the closing minutes of Game 5, only received a $2,500 fine for the bare-knuckle hit — remaining in the lineup and eventually potting the series-clinching goal with 1:15 left in overtime.
Yeeesh.
As a whole, the Bruins are 3-1 in four playoff series against the Hurricanes, although two of those matchups were back in 1990 and ‘91 against the Whalers.
