Just making the playoffs isn’t enough for the Hurricanes. Their sights are higher
We have not yet reached the point where making the playoffs can be taken for granted, although the Carolina Hurricanes have done it this season with such relative ease. The fact that reaching the postseason three years in a row is a post-relocation first is a pointed reminder that those very dark days aren’t all that far behind.
A franchise that has struggled with prosperity over the course of its history is now awash in it after clinching another trip to the playoffs with the point earned in Monday night’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars, and such an accomplishment should not be taken lightly. There were too many years when the Hurricanes fell short by the finest of margins (and just as many when the margins were all too wide).
Even if this team was expected to be in this position at this point, between COVID and injuries and the quality of opponents like Tampa Bay and Florida, there was no shortage of potholes and hurdles to be dodged and cleared along the way.
So it’s worth taking a moment to appreciate the diligence with which this group has approached the regular season the past three years, as well as the motivational and technical skill of Rod Brind’Amour and his coaching staff. These have not just been three seasons worth continuing in the postseason; they have been three seasons of continuous improvement, even if the playoff results didn’t proceed along the same upward slope.
And ... the moment’s over.
Because this team expected no less than this, and because it has indeed elevated its game from last season and the season before, this can’t be enough. Amid the disruption of last season and the stifling uncomfortability of the playoff bubble, there were times when it seemed like the Hurricanes were merely happy to be there, especially as the Boston series went sideways.
There hasn’t been any of that this season, and there shouldn’t be any of that in the playoffs, and there can’t be any of it now. The stakes are just as high over the final eight games as they were over the first 48. In this division, with three heavyweights slugging it out at the top, finishing first means more than hanging a banner.
With the obvious and perennial caveat that every playoff series is its own miniature universe, the odds will lean heavily toward the team among the Carolina-Tampa-Florida trio that doesn’t have to play one of the other two in the first round. That 2-3 semifinal series in the Central Division has the potential to be an absolute slog, every bit as difficult as the division final will be. No disrespect to Dallas or Nashville, but the gap between the top three and the rest of the division is tangible and significant. There’s a reward for finishing strong, and the Hurricanes control their own destiny to claim it.
Closing out the season the right way and claiming the division title would be a statement of intent from a team that has shown its Stanley Cup window is as open as anyone’s. There are 12 players on this team who participated in the first-round win over the Washington Capitals in 2019. That core is as experienced in the postseason as it is going to get. With the addition of Vincent Trocheck, Brady Skjei, Martin Necas, Jesper Fast and Alex Nedeljkovic to that group, their time has come and it has come now.
The Hurricanes may not win the Stanley Cup, but the team that wins this division is going to have as good a chance to win it as anyone. They’re right in that mix. They have earned entry to the postseason. Now they have to finish the regular season on the right note, in the right way, for all the right reasons.
They have already made history of a sort, but that can’t be all.
This story was originally published April 26, 2021 at 10:15 PM with the headline "Just making the playoffs isn’t enough for the Hurricanes. Their sights are higher."
