Articles in Carolina Hurricanes

via Sportsnet's YouTube page,

Paul Maurice and Rod Brind’Amour have a long history that began in Carolina when Maurice was a Head Coach and Brind’Amour was a player. Now they face off in the Eastern Conference Final.

from Amalie Benjamin of the NHL's website,

These are four teams that don't always get the headlines and the publicity, that don't come from traditional hockey markets, that have everything to gain from the spot in which they find themselves, here in the Eastern and Western Conference Finals. Combined, the Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights have won the Stanley Cup twice, with the Hurricanes winning it in 2006 and the Stars in 1999.

They will begin the next step of trying to make some new history -- and some new fans -- when they start off the conference finals, with the Panthers and Hurricanes playing Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final on Thursday at PNC Arena in Raleigh (8 p.m. ET; TNT, CBC, TVAS, SN) and the Stars and Golden Knights playing Game 1 of the Western Conference Final on Friday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (8:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, CBC, TVAS, SN).

"A deeper playoff run will draw attention to the unique players that we have that you can come and enjoy watching play," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. "What happens in these runs, it's not just about getting excited because of the spectacle of playoff hockey. You want to get the connection to the home crowd too.

"There'll be a whole bunch of people who are going to buy (Panthers forward) Sam Bennett jerseys based on what they saw. And then I can say that about a bunch of different guys."

read on

from Ken Wiebe of Sportsnet,

The road to this point of the Stanley Cup Playoffs has been an interesting one, to say the least, with the Panthers relishing the role of underdog in knocking off the top-seeded and record-setting Boston Bruins in the seventh game in the opening round, then stunning the hockey world once again by ousting the Toronto Maple Leafs in five games, moving Maurice into the fourth conference final of his coaching career.

For the Hurricanes, it’s mostly been a business-like approach in knocking off the New York Islanders in six games and New Jersey Devils in five.

This is a group that’s enjoyed plenty of regular-season success, had a taste of the playoffs over the past few seasons and was supposed to be ready to take the next step, at least until an Achilles injury to Max Pacioretty and a torn ACL for Andrei Svechnikov sent the two high-scoring wingers to the sidelines, reducing them to the role of spectator.

As if that wasn’t enough to overcome, fellow forward Teuvo Teravainen suffered a hand injury in Game 2 of the opening-round series with the Islanders, taking another potent weapon out of the Hurricanes lineup.

Instead of wilting under the pressure and leaning on the excuse of not having enough offensive catalysts to persevere, the injuries seemed to have galvanized the Hurricanes. What is surprising is that the team is scoring at an even higher rate, all the while playing a structured style that has made it difficult for the opponent to penetrate.

As Maurice pointed out to reporters in Florida earlier this week, there are certainly similarities when it comes to the style these two teams play.

more

from Luke DeCock of the News & Observer,

One of the goal lights at Prudential Center kept turning itself on and off in irregular spasms Monday, the one behind the net Antti Raanta was manning. Electronic hangover from Sunday? Omen for Tuesday? Merely a weird annoyance?

Those are all questions the Carolina Hurricanes would prefer to contemplate than the state of their goaltending situation, which went from no-lose to a no-answers in the space of a few days on either side of Sunday’s 8-4 Schlock at the Rock.

Frederik Andersen, making his fourth straight start for the first time all year, wasn’t able to capture the momentum from his first three playoff appearances, getting caught up in the steamroll as the Devils piled it on.

Pyotr Kochetkov, in relief of Andersen only 53 seconds into the second period, having not played an NHL game in six weeks or an AHL game in four, had the opportunity to be an unlikely hero coming in down 4-0 but didn’t end up making any case to start Game 4 on Tuesday.

Which leaves Raanta, who was an unexpected scratch from Game 2 with an illness, didn’t dress for Game 3 on Sunday and returned to the ice for practice Monday. Raanta was first off the ice, usually the sign of the next game’s starter, but Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour was noncommittal whether Raanta would even play.

continued

from Ethan Sears of the New York Post,

The Devils have already come back from one 2-0 deficit to win a playoff series, so why not another?

That was the prevailing question on Sunday afternoon in Newark, as the Devils announced themselves in Game 3 against the Hurricanes, playing a relentless 60 minutes of hockey on their way to an 8-4 demolition that pulled their deficit in the series back to 2-1 and delivered a message: New Jersey will be no easy out.

“You guys throw around inexperience, you throw that around. Now we’ve been in this situation before where we’ve been down 2-0,” Jack Hughes said following a four-point performance that included a Gordie Howe hat trick. “You don’t want to say you’re comfortable there, but you know it’s still a long series to go. We’re back in this thing.”

With Vitek Vanecek replacing Akira Schmid in net and Luke Hughes making his playoff debut to Damon Severson’s left, the Devils delivered a blindingly tenacious performance.

continued

Catch the highlights below.

from Greg Wyshynski of ESPN,

The New Jersey Devils limped home after Game 2 against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night in a familiar spot: Down 0-2 in their series, having been embarrassed by their opponents in consecutive losses.

"We should be really pissed off right now," said Devils captain Nico Hischier, after Carolina's 6-1 win in Raleigh. "I think what bothers me the most is just that we lost our battles and it's the playoffs. But we can't feel too sorry for ourselves. It's a series. We have to come back to our own barn, have a bounce-back game and forget what happened tonight as fast as possible."

What gave the Devils hope after the game was a sense of déjà vu: They dropped the first two games of their opening round series against the New York Rangers, before roaring back to win in seven games. In fact, they were also dominated in those games, getting outscored 10-2 in two home losses.

continued

Highlights are below.

from Chip Alexander and Luke DeCock of the News & Observer,

Why change what appeared to work so well?

That appears to be the Carolina Hurricanes’ approach to Game 2 of their playoff series against the New Jersey Devils....

At the morning skate Friday, Andersen again was in the starter’s crease. The lines remained unchanged, as well as the defensive pairs — a status-quo lineup....

Devils coach Lindy Ruff is counting on a better start, better play and better result in Game 2.

Ruff said again that beating the New York Rangers in seven games in the opening round took its toll on his team. There was a hangover effect, especially after the emotional win in Game 7. “I expect a lot more energy,” Ruff said after the Devils’ morning skate.

“I expect a lot more speed, I expect the team to play a lot quicker. Give them a lot of credit. They played a really good game. I didn’t like a lot of parts of our game. We lacked speed, we lacked energy.

“I thought the second period we started to win battles ... we played quicker. We were a lot more connected and our puck support was better, and that led to better opportunities. But we had some guys whose tanks didn’t quite have enough energy in them."

read on

from Mark Lazerus of The Athletic,

The second-round matchup between the Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils promised to be a track meet, with two of the league’s fastest teams squaring off.

But only one got out of the starting block.

A rested Carolina squad ran a sluggish, seemingly unprepared Devils team out of PNC Arena early, racing to a 3-0 lead, and was never threatened in a 5-1 Game 1 victory Wednesday in Raleigh, N.C....

Carolina had pretty much a perfect period to start this series, outshooting the Devils 11-1, with that one shot a harmless Bastian shot from the neutral zone. The Devils didn’t even have a shot attempt in the first seven minutes. Carolina led 2-0 after one, but it could have been even more, as Martin Necas came up empty on two Grade A chances.

It looked awfully similar to the Devils’ first period in Game 1 against the Rangers, when they fell behind early and looked generally lost. The optimist can point to that and say, hey, it worked out in the long run, as the Devils righted the ship and won games 3 through 5, along with Game 7. The pessimist will point out that Lindy Ruff’s squad looked utterly unprepared for an opponent for the second straight Game 1.

read on ($)

Carolina advances to round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by defeating the New York Islanders 2-1 in OT tonight.

Below watch the game winner and the handshakes lus the game highlights.

from Ethan Sears of the New York Post,

The language used by Mathew Barzal was too specific to be a coincidence.

Asked about Ilya Sorokin following the Islanders’ season-extending 3-2 win over the Hurricanes on Tuesday, Barzal used the Hart Trophy’s criteria to describe the Islanders’ goaltender.

“He’s special,” Barzal said. “He really is. He’s been our backbone all year. You look at the most important players in the league to their teams, I think he’s in the top three or five players in the league.”

If that wasn’t clear before Tuesday, it is now after Sorokin keyed the Islanders with 34 saves to stave off elimination against the Hurricanes, sending both teams back to Elmont for Game 6 on Friday and making sure the Islanders’ season lasts at least a few more days.

It is Sorokin — of course it is Sorokin — who deserves much of the credit for this one, finally leaving his imprint on the series from start to finish on a night when the Islanders may not have had their best, but the goaltender rendered that detail moot.

continued

Game highlights are below.

from Ethan Sears of the New York Post,

The Islanders, so nearly, returned to New York with home-ice advantage and momentum in the series.

Instead, they got on a plane back to Long Island searching for answers after a gut-punch 4-3 overtime loss featuring a blown third-period lead, a pair of uncharacteristic goals let in by Ilya Sorokin and a Jesper Fast game-winner packed with controversy, with what seemed to be a Jordan Martinook high stick on Scott Mayfield that went uncalled in the lead-up to the goal.

The first playoff game at UBS Arena on Friday night is now an absolute must-win for the Islanders, who need to find an answer for Carolina’s speed advantage and ensure that this loss is not the backbreaker to their season.

“We just gotta find a way to score that extra goal,” Noah Dobson said. “We had lots of opportunities. It didn’t pan out for us tonight. Just gotta get ready for Game 3, regroup.”

It looked as though the Islanders would leave PNC Arena with a win after Brock Nelson gave them their first lead of the series 9:18 into the third period, burying a wrist shot off the rush.

continued

from Mark Falkner of the Detroit News,

The team announced the next day that Tracy was stepping away from his duties to "address a personal matter."

"What's done is done," Brind'Amour said. "First, we made sure he was going to be all right. He took ownership right away and then it was what's the next step? He didn't blame anyone. Tons of people supported him because he cares about people. That's what stands out for me and how you get through tough times."

Now, with the first anniversary of the New York incident coming up at the end of the month and Tracy back in the broadcast booth since the start of the 2022-23 NHL season, he credits Brind'Amour as well as a huge support network, including his sister Tiffany Klaasen, his cousin and Ford CEO Jim Farley, and his addiction counselor Brian Spitsbergen, for helping him during these 11 months of sobriety while he attends daily meetings in a recovery program.

"When you're an alcoholic like I am, one of the things you struggle with and prevents you from truly accepting that you have a disease is comparing and not identifying," the 49-year-old Tracy said. "You'll say, 'Well this hasn't happened to me yet or that hasn't happened to me yet.' It takes the yets to get to the necessary acceptance.

"When I think of April in New York last year, one of those yets I couldn't have fathomed was drinking on the day of the game. I did. I had a terrible hangover and I thought another drink would calm my head down. I think about that day every day because it gives me the acceptance that I am one thousand percent an alcoholic."

more ($)

from Adam Kimelman of the NHL's website,

Martin Necas scored the tying goal with 0.3 seconds remaining when the Carolina Hurricanes rallied for a 5-4 overtime win against the Philadelphia Flyers on at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday.

Necas tied the game on a 6-on-4 power play in the third period with Frederik Andersen pulled for an extra skater, knocking a loose puck past Felix Sandstrom before time expired.

"I was just standing on the back door and the puck just -- I don't even know -- somehow showed up there and I just banged it into the net," Necas said.

Sebastian Aho then scored on the rush 28 seconds into overtime to complete his hat trick, pushing the puck through the skates of Flyers defenseman Tony DeAngelo and beating Sandstrom for his 30th goal of the season....

"I thought we played really well, felt we had the game controlled," Flyers coach John Tortorella said.

more

Below watch the game tying and OT goals.

RALEIGH, NC. - Don Waddell, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that forward Andrei Svechnikov will undergo reconstructive surgery on his right ACL on Thursday morning, performed by Dr. Marty Isbell of Raleigh Orthopaedic. Svechnikov will miss the remainder of the 2022-23 regular season as well as the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"After further consultation with global experts in this field, it has been determined that the best course of action for Andrei's future is to have this surgery, and to have it done by our team orthopedist, Dr. Marty Isbell," said Waddell. "We're confident that Andrei will make a full recovery."

Svechnikov, 22, ranks tied for second among Hurricanes skaters in points this season (55) and is third on the team in goals (23) in 64 games played. Carolina's first-round selection, second overall, in the 2018 NHL Draft, Svechnikov has scored 112 goals and earned 152 assists (264 points) in 347 career NHL games with the Hurricanes.

NEW YORK (Feb. 13, 2023) – The National Hockey League (NHL) will embrace the college game day and tailgating atmosphere as part of its transformation of Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh for the 2023 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series sold-out outdoor game between the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals this Saturday, Feb. 18 (8 p.m. ET, ABC, ESPN+, SN360, TVAS2).

NEW YORK (Jan. 26, 2023) – The National Hockey League and adidas today unveiled the jerseys the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals will wear when they face off in the 2023 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series™ outdoor game at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C., on Saturday, Feb. 18 (8 p.m. ET, ABC, ESPN+, SN360, TVAS2).

Both jerseys will be available at adidas.com, adidas.ca, NHLShop.com, NHLShop.ca, Fanatics’ network of online stores and at Capitals’ and Hurricanes’ team stores starting at noon ET today. Additional retailers will offer both jerseys starting Saturday, Jan. 28.

Additional details for the 2023 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series will be announced in the coming weeks. For the latest event details, visit NHL.com/stadiumseries and follow @NHL and @PR_NHL. Fans can join the conversation by using the official hashtag #StadiumSeries.

see the sweater below.

Frederik Andersen is tonight's recipient. It also spoiled his shutout in the Canes 2-1 win over the Pens.

from Luke DeCock of the News & Observer,

Fourteen years is too long.

There was a time, an epoch ago, when the Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils seemed destined to collide in the playoffs, year after year after year. Then, the Hurricanes faded from relevance and as they returned the Devils did the same, and never the twain shall meet.

But based on the way the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference are shaking out this season, there are pretty good odds that time has come again.

And based on the way their games have gone this season, there are equally good odds that a Canes-Devils series would be as much fun as it ever was. Maybe even more.

Tuesday night was a disaster for the Hurricanes, who led by two goals going into the final minute of the second period and ended up losing 5-3. But it was an entertaining disaster, full of wild momentum swings, a pair of short-handed goals, a controversial winner — replays showed Dawson Mercer’s breakaway was sprung by a high stick, but the officials missed it and it’s not a challengable play outside the offensive zone — and an epic collapse by the Hurricanes’ third defensive pairing of Jalen Chatfield and Dylan Coghlan.

Pyotr Kotchetkov was poor as well, and while the rookie helped carry the Hurricanes through their winning streak, he clearly needs some time in the AHL to recalibrate. Frederik Andersen, who has been practicing for more than a month, can’t return soon enough — and could as soon as Thursday, although the weekend appears more likely.

Tuesday’s wild loss came on the heels of their last meeting with the Devils in Newark nine days ago, in which the Hurricanes were up 2-1 and 3-2, fell behind 4-3 late and ended up winning in a shootout. That win extended the Hurricanes’ winning streak to 11. They have a new streak now, 0-3-1 since then.

continued

from NHL.com,

Ethan Bear and Lane Pederson were traded to the Vancouver Canucks by the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday.

Carolina received a fifth-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.

Bear, a defenseman, has not played an NHL game this season. He had 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 58 games for Carolina last season and did not play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The 25-year-old signed a one-year, $2.2 million contract with Carolina on July 28 and can become a restricted free agent after the season.

"We're pleased to have added an established defenceman to our blueline," Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said of Bear. "It gives the coaching staff another option with his right shot, his ability to move pucks, and his ability to get the puck out of our own end quick. His transition game has been something that I've watched over the years that I like."

continued

Burnzie returns to San Jose.