Hurricanes set modern record for longest wait between playoff series
The Carolina Hurricanes have had to wait quite a while to play hockey again. So much so, it’s set the modern record for the longest wait between a series.
Update / confirmation: Hurricanes have the modern NHL record for longest wait for their next series.
As reported by James Mirtle of The Athletic, the Hurricanes are the fourth team in NHL history to wait 10 or more days between two playoff games, with their slated 11-day wait being the longest since the 1919 Montreal Canadiens, who had to wait 12 days between Game 5 of the NHL Final and Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Also joining this list is the 2003 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, who waited 10 days between Game 4 of the Western Conference Final and Game 1 of the Cup Final, and the 2019 Boston Bruins, who waited 10 days between Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final (which was a sweep of the Hurricanes) and Game 1 of the Cup Final. The Canes are the first team to require a wait this long prior to a series other than the Cup Final.
The Hurricanes find themselves in this situation after puling off a sweep themselves, dispatching the Philadelphia Flyers in four games. With the other Eastern Conference Semifinal series going seven games, the Hurricanes have had to wait for the Buffalo Sabres and Canadiens to conclude their series to play the winner in the East Final.
But there’s more to the wait than just one series being a sweep and the other being a seven-game series. The Hurricanes started their second-round series early, because they had swept the Ottawa Senators while the Flyers had beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games. Because of that, their second-round series started before the Canadiens even finished their first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, as that also went seven games. As a result, the Canes were already done two games before Buffalo and Montreal’s series had begun, and those two had only played two games by the time the Hurricanes swept the Flyers.
With the Sabres forcing a Game 7 on Saturday, that officially locks in the Conference Finals schedule, meaning that the Hurricanes will play the winner of Monday’s Game 7 this Thursday in Carolina.