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The Carolina Hurricanes clinched their third straight division title last night, defeating the Florida Panthers 6-4.
For the second game in a row, Carolina came out with a fairly strong opening frame. Then midway through the period, Brent Burns’ point shot ended up taking a deflection on the way to the net to beat Alex Lyon, opening the scoring for the Hurricanes.
Carolina added to their lead only about a minute into the second period, as Jesperi Kotkaniemi just threw the puck on net and it beat Lyon as well, extending Carolina’s lead. The Hurricanes went on to dominate the second frame from there, outshooting Florida 13-5 and if it weren’t for some big saves from Lyon, the Hurricanes would’ve run away with it.
Aleksander Barkov did get the Panthers on the board early in the third period with a nice shot though, cutting the lead to one. Then only minutes later, Frederik Andersen mishandled the puck behind the net and Radko Gudas took it off him to put it out front, and Ryan Lomberg capitalized, tying the game.
Rod Brind’Amour called his timeout though and it made the difference, as soon after that, Brent Burns put the Hurricanes back ahead with a similar goal to his first, firing the puck on net from the point to beat Lyon through traffic. Then 21 seconds later, Jesper Fast got to a rebound in front to score, quickly reinstating the two-goal lead after a chaotic start to the frame. After things settled down a bit, Carolina came up with a big penalty kill late in the frame, and Shayne Gostisbehere exited the box to bury an empty netter.
With a late 5-2 lead, it seemed like the Hurricanes had clinched the division. However, Eric Staal did score afterwards on a weak five-hole goal that Andersen absolutely should’ve had. Then only about 40 seconds later, Carter Vehaeghe buried a rebound after a flurry of chances in front, and all of a sudden, it was a 5-4 game.
However, Sebastian Aho ended up burying a second empty netter from there, securing a 6-4 win for Carolina.
While an eight-goal third period created some uncertainty as to whether Carolina would actually lock up the division, overall, it was a strong outing for Carolina. They really controlled much of the first 40 minutes and aside from things unravelling a bit in the final frame and their power play once again going 0-for-4, it was a good way to wrap up the regular season.
Adding to the drama throughout the third period was what was going on in the New Jersey Devils’ game against the Washington Capitals. With a Devils’ win and a Hurricanes’ loss, Carolina would’ve slipped to second spot in the Metro division and faced the New York Rangers in the first round, which wasn’t necessarily an ideal outcome.
For a while, it looked like the outcome of Carolina’s game wouldn’t matter in terms of clinching top spot, as the Capitals held a three-goal lead against New Jersey. However, just as the Panthers had tied the game against the Hurricanes, the Devils had mounted a comeback of their own and all of a sudden, Carolina actually really needed a win. The Hurricanes pulling through was huge because the Devils did end up completing their comeback and took down the Capitals in overtime.
So now, the Hurricanes will face the New York Islanders in Round 1.
The last time the teams met in the postseason was in the second round of the 2018-19 playoffs, where both teams had just found their way back into the postseason. The Hurricanes went on to sweep the series, on route to an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals.
To me, this was probably the best matchup for the Hurricanes in the first round. New York can be a bit hold-and-cold at times and like Carolina in their current state, the Islanders don’t have much firepower up front either. The x-factor though is Ilya Sorokin: Carolina can really struggle to score and facing one of the best goaltenders in the world, along with a team whose defensive structure can completely shut down chances for opponents, is somewhat of a cause for concern.
Obviously, it’s going to be interesting for me as well, given I cover both teams for this site. I’ll be trying my best to put out content for both the Hurricanes and Islanders, with as little overlap as possible.
I’ll go over this matchup more over the next couple days but the one point I’d note is that to me, this game solidified Raanta as the starter for Game 1. While Andersen did make some key saves, he was solely responsible for both the second and third goals against last night. We know Andersen can be prone to lapses at times, while Raanta was very solid in last year’s playoffs and has been the better goaltender this season when healthy. I suspect both goalies will be used in the playoffs, but Raanta should get the start.
Regardless, it’s great to see the Hurricanes lock up top spot in the division. While they’ve faced adversity with multiple key injuries and have struggled because of them, it’s impressive they were able to hold onto top spot in the Metro.
Carolina’s first playoff game against the Islanders will come on Monday.
QuizMaker
OTHER ARTICLES FROM APRIL
Hurricanes sweep weekend back-to-back, closing in on Metro Division title
Hurricanes blow lead against Senators, rebound for overtime win
Hurricanes shut out by Predators as lack of scoring remains an issue
Hurricanes lose to Sabres, unable to build momentum down the stretch
Hurricanes split back-to-back, hold division lead with one game remaining 
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • 
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