Fresh off a long layoff, the Hurricanes will face a battle tested Canadiens squad fueled by rookie goaltending and momentum.
The Carolina Hurricanes have finally learned their opponent for the Eastern Conference Final after over a week of waiting.
The Hurricanes will be facing the Montreal Canadiens for the chance to play in the Stanley Cup Final after the Habs defeated the Buffalo Sabres in seven games.
It'll be the ultimate test of rest versus rust as no team has played less games than the Hurricanes so far this postseason (8), while on the other hand, no team has played more than the Canadiens (14).
This will be the third time these two teams have met in the postseason, but first since 2006.
The Canes won each of those previous two series: a six-game conference semifinals win in 2002 and another six-game conference quarterfinals win in 2006.
In both those years too, the Hurricanes advanced to the Stanley Cup Final, winning it in 2006.
Montreal presents a big challenge for the Hurricanes and one a bit different than the other two teams they've faced.
While the Canadiens haven't been the strongest team defensively this postseason, rookie netminder Jakub Dobes has been one of the best goalies in the entire league since the Olympic break and that's carried into the playoffs.
He trails only Hurricanes netminder Frederik Andersen in goals saved above expected this postseason and he put on some tremendous performances against Carolina in the regular season too.
Montreal was also the seventh highest scoring team in the regular season and had the 10th best power play heading into the playoffs and ar3e currently 25% on the man advantage in the playoffs.
The Canadiens beat the Hurricanes all three times they played in the regular season, and almost all of the goals were in that series were scored by the Habs' top guys.
Those top guys are still producing well for Montreal (Lane Hutson leads the charge with 14 points), but they're also now starting to really get some consistent depth contributions this postseason as well, making them quite the dangerous team.
The Hurricanes will certainly have their work cut out for them, but they're a much more experienced team than the Canadiens and one that specifically excels at shutting down their opponents offensively.
Add in the fact that they're a very balanced group without any real weak links and you've got a team that should be able to matchup well against any opponent.
They've had a long time to rest, so there really shouldn't be any excuses heading into this series either.
Now only time will tell if they'll finally be able to get over the conference final hump.
Game 1 will kick off Thursday at 8 p.m. EST at Lenovo Center.
Recent Articles
Stay updated with the most interesting Carolina Hurricanes stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News to never miss a story.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.