The Carolina Hurricanes and Boston Bruins are set to meet in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third time in four seasons. Boston has had Carolina’s post-season number in recent years but with Rod Brind'Amour’s club setting a franchise record for wins and points this season, have the tables turned?
Boston swept Carolina in 2019 and eliminated them in five games the following year but the Hurricanes had finished fourth in the Metropolitan Division both those seasons and the roster was not the contender-calibre unit hockey fans have come to know in 2021-22.
The Hurricanes are coming off their second straight division title and had the third-best record in the NHL, bookending their regular-season schedule with nine- and six-game winning streaks.
The Bruins had a middle-of-the-road record up until the turn of the calendar and they’ve gone an impressive 37-16-3 since New Year’s Day.
Boston is looking to win at least one playoff series for a fifth consecutive season and with Patrice Bergeron’s future up in the air, might there be an added sense of motivation for a Bruins team that has more collective playoff experience than these Hurricanes?
Like so many playoff series, this one could come down to which team gets the more reliable goaltending.
ADVANCED STATS
(5-on-5 totals via Natural Stat Trick)
REGULAR SEASON TEAM STATS
HEAD TO HEAD RECORD
Carolina: 3-0-0
Boston: 0-0-3
THE BREAKDOWN
The combined score of the three meetings between Carolina and Boston this season ended up being 16-1 Hurricanes. That lopsided total shouldn’t be indicative of how competitive this opening-round series could end up being – especially with Carolina’s starting netminder recovering from an injury.
Frederik Andersen started and won all three games against Boston this season and was one allowed goal away from having a literal perfect year against them. Andersen stopped 98 of 99 shots faced and posted two of his four shutouts this season against the Bruins, one at PNC Arena the other at TD Garden.
The 32-year-old hasn’t played since sustaining an injury against Colorado on April 16, though, and he didn’t take part in Sunday’s morning skate.
How will Carolina cope if they’re forced to turn to Antti Raanta or even rookie Pyotr Kochetkov?
Boston ranked second in the league with 36.1 shots on goal per game, yet their 8.5 shooting percentage was third lowest among all 32 teams. Boston’s positive 7.4 shot differential average led all teams in the league. So did their 42 wins while outshooting their opponents; Carolina, meanwhile, ranked fifth in both shot differential and wins while outshooting an opponent.
Boston outshot Carolina 33-24 back on Oct. 28 before the Hurricanes won the shot battles 34-32 on Jan. 18 and 43-34 on Feb. 10.
“They had their way with us this year,” Cassidy told reporters after the regular-season finale. “Some of that was a while ago and I think our team is in a much better place than when we played them early in the year. We’re not going to take too much stock in that. We have had success against them in the playoffs recently. Again, two different teams so you can’t take too much stock in that either.”
It’ll either be Linus Ullmark or Jeremy Swayman in net for Boston. Both teams had five players hit the 20-goal plateau and five players record at least 50 points.
Special teams were relative strengths for both teams this season and Carolina’s 88 per cent penalty kill efficiency was best in the league.
Carolina X-Factor: Frederik Andersen
This one is all about timing and necessity. Andersen just earned his second career William M. Jennings Trophy and is eager to rebound from consistent first-round exits with the Maple Leafs. He went 35-14-3 with a .922 save percentage, 2.17 goals-against average and four shutouts in 52 appearances during his first season in Carolina but the big question is when will he be ready in this series? The Hurricanes were 15-5-4 with Raanta in net and Kochetkov has yet to taste his first defeat at the NHL level, but Andersen has been a cheat code against Boston this season.
Boston X-Factor: Jake DeBrusk
DeBrusk’s name had been mentioned in trade rumours as recently as early March, however the team rewarded him with a two-year extension instead of moving the 25-year-old winger ahead of the deadline. DeBrusk tied for third on the Bruins with 25 goals, 18 of which came in the second half of the season. It’s little surprise his bump in production correlated with Cassidy fiddling with his lines and slotting DeBrusk beside Bergeron and Brad Marchand. DeBrusk has 16 goals in 59 career playoff games.
BROADCAST DETAILS
Monday, May 2: at Carolina, 7 p.m. (Sportsnet 360)
Wednesday, May 4: at Carolina, 7 p.m. (Sportsnet 360)
Friday, May 6: at Boston, 7 p.m. (Sportsnet 360)
Sunday, May 8: at Boston, 12:30 p.m. (Sportsnet)
*Tuesday, May 10: at Carolina
*Thursday, May 12: at Boston
*Saturday, May 14: at Carolina
