Mailbag #59: To The Second Round We Go!

RALEIGH, NC. -Thanks to the overtime heroics of Paul Stastny at UBS Arena on Friday night, the Carolina Hurricanes have advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a third consecutive year.
The group has earned a well-deserved day away from the ice on Saturday, but the content keeps on rolling with a mailbag, as we answer the questions you brought to the table.

(Please note that some questions have been edited for clarity.)
Give us some post-game locker room vibes. How were the boys after that game? - @irishguy8282
There was joy and elation for sure, but also certainly the understanding that this was just a stepping stone on the way to where the group wants to be.
You could sense that they were all very happy that they got it done last night for a variety of reasons.
On the larger scale, the unit is missing three "top six" forwards that were all expected to be a big part of the celebration when the group was winning in the playoffs this year.
On a smaller scale, there was happiness in the fact that they found a way to get it done, after a pretty dismal first 40 minutes last night.
What was said during the extra-long goal horn in the post-game video? - @jaredellis96\_
\\\\ \\\\\\ \\, \\\\!
\\\\ \\* \\\\\\\\ \\\\. \\\\!
Is it wishful thinking to believe that Turbo can be back in time for the end of the second round? - @benhuffman31 / @b\_reezy32 / @redmanjbj / @cjslumber17
This is an interesting one.
The average recovery time for an NHL player that suffers a broken hand appears to be 4-6 weeks. Teuvo's injury occurred on April 19.
His surgery was conducted on April 20.
Now Boston Bruins' forward Tyler Bertuzzi broke his hand earlier this season while still playing with Detroit and returned in exactly 30 days. However, there's also the nightmare scenario of Vancouver Canucks' forward Tanner Pearson, who suffered a broken hand in November and didn't play again this season.
So, it's hard to say what the outlook is at the moment. I'm sure it will be asked about in the coming days and we'll be sure to provide updates as they become available.
Do you think Jack Drury will be making a return? As crazy as it is we kinda miss him. - @ConnorTimmons18 / @DugginsBetsey
I would not be surprised if we see him in Round 2.
I think there were two massive positives that came this week after his injury on Sunday.
1) That Rod Brind'Amour said it was

.
2) That Drury

on Thursday before they left for New York.
The Canes won't be back on the ice until Monday, so if he's there, that's a great sign. If he's able to shed his no-contact sweater, even better.
What do their couple of days "off" look like? Are they totally off and resting or are they working out and skating? - @Beth\_Daniel21
The group is completely off on Saturday. They won't be on the ice tomorrow, either.
I suspect tomorrow will be meetings, possibly a workout, and video, either to review their game from their series or to prepare for New Jersey if they're able to close things out this evening.

Possible schedule scenarios for Round 2? - @yellowshoegirl / @zachj\_4 / @AGTG74
(Note: The below answer was written before New York's Game 6 victory. Rod Brind'Amour mentioned during his Sunday morning media availability that it sounds like Round 2 will begin Wednesday at PNC Arena.)
The NHL likes to wait until all Round 1 games are complete before announcing the Round 2 schedule, so, pending Saturday's results, we could be looking at a Round 2 schedule release around 1 a.m. Tuesday morning.
I could be wrong and they could release Eastern Conference details earlier, who knows?
If there are no Game 7s on Monday, then maybe everything bumps up a day.
If New York/New Jersey goes to seven games, the series versus the Canes obviously will not start earlier than Wednesday because Game 7 would be Monday night and there has to be at least a one-day break before starting a new series. However, that would likely mean a Friday/Saturday playoff home game. Yes, you read that correctly, a weekend playoff home game.
If New York/New Jersey doesn't need a seventh and final game, then maybe it's a Tuesday/Thursday at PNC Arena start to the series.
The real caveat this time of year is arena schedules. For your ease of access, here are links to what's going on at
PNC Arena
,
Prudential Center
, and
Madison Square Garden
.
We'll see!
Are we back to Raanta starting off the next series? Is Freddie like our closer now? - @KidFromRaleigh
What a good problem we have now, huh?
Antti Raanta was quality in five starts, but then Frederik Andersen shows up and puts on the best goaltending performance of the series.
I'm sure that will be the big question asked to Rod Brind'Amour in the next couple of days.
What role do you think Andersen has next round? I could see Raanta and Andersen rotating starts. I feel like that's what they wanted to do this round and couldn't since Andersen was sick/injured. - @adam\_fallone / @CaniacPale
I could definitely see this being the case.
And why not?
When the team alternated for the final eight games of the regular season, it was one of the best stretches we've seen Raanta play. He posted a .925 save percentage while going 3-1. Now he's got the confidence of five pretty darn good playoff starts behind his sails too. There's not a single game you can look at in the first round and say, "he was bad."
Although Andersen's numbers weren't quite as glamorous during the regular season-ending stint, the goal support wasn't exactly there for him either. In his final four starts of the season, he got 10 total goals scored in front of him, with six of them coming in the season finale in Florida. That's all forgotten now anyways after he balled out on Friday. He was spectacular as he stopped 33/34. He had to be good early, and he was. He had to make scrambling stops, and he did.
Going back to the rotation would not shock me at all.
How big of a factor does the whole "rest vs. rust" discussion play into preparing for the next series? - @saltdog93
Great question.
I think we got our answer Saturday afternoon when it was announced that Carolina wouldn't be skating on Sunday either.
Some of these fellas, including preseason, have now played 90 games this season. Almost assuredly, some are playing through injury. As the saying goes, "Rest is a weapon" and it appears that that's the choice for the club right now.
With that being said, I think we'll see them back on the ice Monday, even if Round 2 doesn't start until Wednesday.
We've got to up our scoring. Think we will play Ponomarev in the next series? - @Susanhs012 / @weird\_reader
After Mackenzie MacEachern's Game 4 performance, anything is possible.
The difference is though, MacEachern had prior NHL experience and NHL playoff experience.
I'm just as eager as everyone else to see what Vasily Ponomarev can do and as of now, we're only one more injury away from that being forced to be the case. What I see as the next step is if the 21-year-old practices with the team this week. Is Jack Drury close enough and ready to jump back in for Round 2? Or does "Pono" start getting reps to really be ready on standby?
It's a great question and definitely something to keep tabs on in the next few days.
Even if he doesn't get in during these playoffs, his name will absolutely be one of the biggest storylines going into 2023-24 training camp.
Not a member of Twitter? We're always happy to take questions at [email protected] as well!
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