Hurricanes finished the first round as expected – now the real challenge begins

The Carolina Hurricanes had no issues getting through the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, eliminating the New Jersey Devils in five games on Tuesday night. 

Getting past the first round has become standard for the team, and swiftly passing through the Devils lived up to their expectations. Now, after head coach Rod Brind’Amour became the first NHL coach to lead the same club to series victories in seven seasons, they look for more success. 

On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff Live, Tyler Yaremchuk and Frank Seravalli dove into the pressures Carolina faces against either the Washington Capitals or Montreal Canadiens in the next round and through the rest of the postseason. 

Yaremchuk: Frank, let’s talk about the series that we haven’t talked a lot about, the Carolina Hurricanes finish off the New Jersey Devils in double overtime. Their best player was their best player, Sebastian Aho.

The Canes are off to round two, and I just kind of shrug and go, ‘yes, as expected.’

Serravali: Maybe not the way that a lot of people saw Game 5 playing out with the Devils having a 3-0 advantage in the game. The [Hurricanes] just looked defeated, like they were totally out of gas. I think they managed three shots total in the double OT, and the Canes were all over them from start to finish in this series; it was a lopsided matchup. I predicted a sweep. In this case, the Devils made things interesting at the end of the series with the double overtime and then, of course, won Game 3. 

I think the real playoffs for the Carolina Hurricanes start next round. They get the winner of the Montreal Canadiens and the Washington Capitals. If it is the Capitals, it’s going to be a pretty good test for both teams. I think Washington can push around the Canes, kind of like they’ve done at times against the Canadiens in this series. 

With the Canes advancing, that’s what Rod Brind’Amour does. First coach in NHL history to win a round in seven consecutive years, all with the same team. Now, it’s all right, let’s go.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…