First Round Series Preview: Hurricanes vs. Bruins

TORONTO - In the spring of 2019, an upstart, feisty young Carolina Hurricanes bunch had scratched and clawed their way back into the postseason for the first time in 10 years. They dethroned the defending Stanley Cup champions and swept their way through the Second Round before meeting the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference Final.

The Bruins then swept the Canes, bringing a swift, unfortunate end to Carolina's magical run.

A year later, the stage is set for a rematch between the Canes and Bruins in the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"I would hope we've grown a lot," head coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "You get a feel for what it's going to take to try to beat them. It's one thing to talk about it, but now that you've faced them and understand what you're facing, it gives you at least a little familiarity in that. We don't really have to say too much. We know we have to be at our best."

"We owe them a better series," Jordan Staal said. "Two very good teams going at it, a good challenge for our group in the First Round."

2020 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

The Canes are riding high off a three-game sweep of the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers, a series that wrapped up a week ago. The Bruins, meanwhile, were winless in three games of the round robin, falling to the four seed in the Eastern Conference after winning the Presidents' Trophy as the league's top team in the regular season.

"I still think it's about, right now, making sure our game is sharp," Brind'Amour said. "We still have a lot to work on in making sure we're the best version of ourselves before we worry about who we're going to play. We know we're getting a grade-A team."

By the Numbers

2019-20 Regular Season Stats

| 38-25-5 | Record | 44-14-12 | | 81 | Points | 100 | | 3.19 | Goals per game | 3.24 | | 2.84 | Goals against per game | 2.39 | | 22.3% | Power Play | 25.2% | | 84.0% | Penalty Kill | 84.3% | | 33.3 | Shots for per game | 32.1 | | 29.3 | Shots against per game | 30.0 | | 50.5% | Faceoffs | 51.0% | | CAROLINA | | BOSTON | | :---: | --- | --- |

2020 Postseason* Stats

| 3-0 | Record | 0-3-0 | | 3.67 | Goals per game | 1.50 | | 1.33 | Goals against per game | 3.50 | | 14.3% | Power Play | 0.0% | | 92.9% | Penalty Kill | 75.0% | | 34.0 | Shots for per game | 31.0 | | 29.3 | Shots against per game | 32.0 | | 52.8% | Faceoffs | 52.9% | | CAROLINA | | BOSTON | | :---: | --- | --- |

\Carolina played in a best-of-five qualifying round, while Boston played a three-game round robin to determine seeding*

Revisiting the Season Series

The Canes and Bruins met just once during the 2019-20 season, the pause cutting short their three-game season series, which was supposed to conclude with two games - one in Raleigh and one in Boston - in a span of five days to close out the year.

Since those games are now lost to history, we only have one match to draw from, but as shown in the qualifying round, the regular-season series isn't exactly indicative of what happens in the playoffs.

Dec. 3, 2019: Bruins 2, Hurricanes 0

Two months deep in the regular season, the Bruins had yet to lose a game at home in regulation. The Canes went toe-to-toe with the league's top-ranked team for nearly 56 minutes, deadlocked in a scoreless dogfight.

Then, with 4:05 left in regulation, Charlie Coyle finished a feed from Brad Marchand to get the Bruins on the board. Just 68 seconds later, David Krejci redirected Charlie McAvoy's point shot, and that was that, a 2-0 final score. Jaroslav Halak stopped all 24 shots he saw in his 500th NHL game to earn the shutout.

"Our mindset going into the game was just keeping it simple, especially against the group they have," Jaccob Slavin said. "For the most part, we played a pretty hard game. It's kind of a kick down there."

"It was a tight game. I'm sure they'd say the same thing. There weren't a lot of chances either way," Staal said. "It was almost a little bit of a chess match towards the end to see who would give."

Why the Hurricanes Pose a Challenge for the Bruins

Playoff Ready

From the moment the puck dropped in Video: CAR Recap: Reimer, Hurricanes shut out by Bruins, playoff hockey was on for the Canes. Brady Skjei laid out Jesper Fast with a crushing hit, Slavin scored on the first shot of the game and Justin Williams dropped the gloves with Ryan Strome - all in the first 2:48 of the game, which set the tone for every period of every game that followed.

The Canes, having been tasked with winning an extra series just to advance to the field of 16, are playoff ready. And the Bruins? The round robin wasn't exactly do-or-die hockey.

"Jumping right into that Rangers series, it helped us get to that level right away," Staal said. "All throughout training camp, Roddy did a great job getting us prepared."

"We were playing for something, and those teams in the top four seeds were just trying to get to this point healthy," Brind'Amour said. "They weren't playing for near as much."

The equalizer in this equation could be that the Canes will have gone a week in between games by the time 8 p.m. on Tuesday rolls around. Even still, the Canes have to simply flip the switch again. The Bruins still have to locate that switch.

The Top Line

The Canes' top line of Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen drove the team's offense in the qualifying round. Aho led the way with eight points (3g, 5a) in three games, while Svechnikov scored a hat trick in Game 2 and finished with five points (3g, 2a). Teravainen recorded a goal and an assist, and all three players were a plus-5.

"That's what makes our team go," Staal said. "They've got such a great mix of talented players. The big, Russian mule beside me. He's hunting pucks and playing physical, and he's got an absolute laser of a shot. Fishy is very similar with hunting the puck and creating turnovers with his speed, skill, hands and vision. Turbo is one of the most talented players I've played with. When he has the puck, he sees the ice so well, creates plays and finds holes you wouldn't even see when you're sitting up top. Just three very talented players who have pushed our team."

The Canes will need that top line, which also comprises three-fifths of their first power-play unit, to make a difference on the scoreboard once again.

"We've got good chemistry together," Svechnikov said. "We have to get to another level, for sure, and we're going to try that against Boston."

Dougie & Co.

It's been a long and sometimes frustrating road of recovery for Dougie Hamilton, who had surgery to repair a broken fibula in his left leg in mid-January and then suffered an undisclosed injury in Phase 3 training camp.

Now, Hamilton is set to draw in for his first game in nearly seven months.

"It's been hard for me, maybe mentally more than anything right now. Just to make that step is good," Video: CAR Recap: Reimer, Hurricanes shut out by Bruins. "Maybe the hardest part through the whole thing is watching the games and not being able to be with the guys. Win or loss, you want to be there. It's hard to be on the outside and feel like you're not a part of it."

Having Hamilton back on the top pair alongside Slavin and manning the point on the top power-play unit makes the Canes a better, more dangerous team.

His first game back has been a long time going, and it's going to feel good.

"For sure," Hamilton smiled. "The guys played great the first three games, so it was a lot of fun to watch them and cheer them on. I'm just itching to be able to join them."

Why the Bruins Pose a Challenge for the Hurricanes

The Best in the League

Though the regular season seems like a distant memory - it feels like more of an eternity ago rather than five months - the Bruins were the league's top team in the abbreviated schedule. Boston accumulated a league-best 100 points and 44 wins in 70 games. They boasted a league-leading plus-53 goal differential and didn't lose in regulation at home until Dec. 7.

Sure, that was then, and this is now, but those 70 games didn't play out like that by accident.

"They're one of the best teams for a reason. There are no weaknesses, and they proved it again all year this year," Brind'Amour said. "I think it's great that we get a chance to play them in the First Round. You might as well get at the best right away."

A Complete Package

From the crease outward, the Bruins are a complete team. Again - they didn't win the Presidents' Trophy by happenstance.

Tuukka Rask finished top 10 in the league in wins (26), goals-against average (2.12) and save percentage ( .929). Their defense is stout, led by Charlie McAvoy, Torey Krug and the rangy, grizzled veteran Zdeno Chara. Their offense is driven by a powerful top line of David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron, who finished one-two-three in team scoring in the regular season. Pastrnak finished atop the league in goals (48) and third in points (95) in 70 games.

The Bruins ranked second in the league on the power play (25.2%) and third in the league on the penalty kill (84.3%).

"They all defend. They have a great system. When they do have an occasional breakdown, they've got great goaltending. They've got the secret to success, for sure," Brind'Amour said. "Their special teams are super specials. When you have that cooking for you, it's a good recipe."

No doubt, the Canes are deeper and more skilled this year than they were last, and they match up better because of it. That could be the key in neutralizing the full-team threat that is Boston.

Blueprint for Success

Just a year ago, after sweeping the Canes in the Eastern Conference Final, the Bruins pushed the St. Louis Blues to a winner-take-all Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final. They have a championship pedigree and a proven core that's familiar with the blueprint for success.

"I don't know if we're going to take a lot out of a series a year ago. Those games were probably closer than maybe the scores - a save here or a goal there could have changed maybe a couple of those games, but they were the better team, and in a seven-game series, the better team always wins," Brind'Amour said. "We have to be better at certain areas, for sure."

The Canes, meanwhile, are a year older and wiser, still despite being one of the youngest teams left competing in the postseason. With Brind'Amour at the helm, they're getting a good read on the blueprint for success, as well.

The Bottom Line

We're through the qualifying round and into the conventional field of 16, and though the Canes draw the best team from the regular season in the First Round, they're prepared to meet the challenge - and this year, overcome it.

"We have more depth. We have a run under our belt that guys like this kid here (Svechnikov) and other guys in the room have learned a lot from. That will help us playing against a team that's done it before and has consistently been very good for a long time," Staal said. "We're trying to get to that level. It started with last year. We're a little more confident with ourselves, the team we can be, what we can do and the teams we can beat."