The Canes (36-11-8, 80 points), who will finish as the top seed in the Central Division, will face the Nashville Predators (30-23-2, 62 points), who clinched their seventh straight postseason berth and locked in the division's fourth seed in a
3-1 final on Saturday night
. This marks the first-ever playoff series between the Canes and Predators,
The Canes are 6-1-0 against the Predators this season, with the eighth and final match-up of the regular season on tap for Monday night. In their last 22 meetings with Nashville, the Canes are 17-4-1.
"We know what they're doing," head coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "I don't think there are a lot of secrets. We're hopeful we'll get healthy and get a few guys back, which would be good. The process is what it is. We've got to get there first, get through the next game and then crank it up."
As the division champions, the Canes have locked up home ice advantage through at least the first two rounds of the playoffs. That means the Canes will host Games 1 and 2 and, if necessary, Games 5 and 7.
Additional playoff details, including a full first-round schedule, ticket information and more, will be announced this week.
