Head coach Rod Brind'Amour and captain Justin Williams can relate to past success and provide a blueprint of what it takes to be a champion, for sure.
But that's about as much carryover as you'll see from the Hurricanes' past playoff success. It's been so long - the Canes last played in the postseason in April 2009 - and so much has changed, especially on the ice. Much like The Force some 30 years after the events of "Return of the Jedi," rabid fan support in the area is being awoken. The energy that brought this building to life during deep playoff runs in the 2000s is becoming evident once more. Should the Hurricanes qualify for the playoffs, a mathematical likelihood at this point, the scene will be familiar in ways and vastly unfamiliar in others.
In pondering this question, I was curious as to how many players on the Hurricanes' roster had previous NHL playoff experience. Of the 22 on the active roster, 11 have competed in the postseason for a combined total of 358 playoff games played. Williams (140 games) and Staal (73 games) own nearly 60 percent of the team's postseason experience; Williams alone accounts for nearly 40 percent of the total figure.
For the other half of the roster, the postseason is as uncharted as, to borrow another Star Wars reference, the Outer Rim.
It's going to be a learning experience, certainly, but one that can be led by Brind'Amour and Williams, two who have been there and won with this team in this city.
"I'm proud of the way we're playing, absolutely," he said. "You don't know how far you can go or how good you can play until you get out there until you do it. We're playing well, and we're going to see where it takes us and how good we can be."
