Boasting a dominant 11-1 postseason record, Carolina aims to clinch a Stanley Cup Final berth. The Hurricanes remain grounded though, treating Game 5 as just another step toward the ultimate goal.
The Carolina Hurricanes are one win away from advancing to their first Stanley Cup Final appearance in two decades.
The Hurricanes blitzed through the first two rounds, sweeping the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers in back-to-back series, and now they have a chance to win the Prince of Wales Trophy in just five games.
Carolina has been a dominant team, with an 11-1 overall record these playoffs, but the team isn't letting things get too far ahead of themselves.
The Hurricanes knows that they haven't won anything yet. That there's no point feeling good about themselves for what they've accomplished. Their only concern is looking forward one day at a time.
"We all know," said Jalen Chatfield. "The message really doesn't have to be delivered. We know that we haven't won anything. This series isn't over. So as far as we're concerned, we have a game we have to win tonight. We have to live in the moment and do that."
But this has been the attitude of the Canes all season and, really, for years now.
It's a professional group with Stanley Cup or bust aspirations.
"The guys are focused," said Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour. "There's one goal here and there's still so much work ahead of us. You can't look at the big picture and I think we've done a real nice job of focusing in on what's important, which is today."
"We're all pros here and we have the same goal in mind," Chatfield said. "We're just going to go out there and play as hard as we can and do what we're capable of."
The goal for today?
To win Game 5 against the Montreal Canadiens.
Nobody is thinking about the fact that a win means that they'll be in the Stanley Cup Final, the first time ever for much of the roster.
"It's another game. Another day," Brind'Amour said. "It's great to be playing at this time of year. It's just another opportunity."
It's one of the biggest cliches heard this time of the year: The fourth game is always the hardest one to win.
"We know the fourth win is the hardest to get in any series, so they're going to come out with their best and we have to match that," said Mark Jankowski.
But the Canes have been adept at stomping out the opposition's "best" all postseason, as they are 2-0 in elimination games.
It's clear that they know what it takes to win and they feel ready to match Montreal's level, just like they did against Ottawa and Philadelphia.
"It's a big opportunity for us," said Seth Jarvis. "We know the situation that they're in and how they're going to come out, so we just have to be ready to match it and play our best game tonight."
"When you have a chance to close it out, you want to do everything you can to do that," said Jordan Martinook. "You know you're going to get the other team's best and it's our job to give our best to give ourselves the best chance to close it out."
Because even though a desperate team is going to bring their best, there's no reason a team who can taste blood in the water won't go for the kill.
And especially so for a team like Carolina who tries to outwork their opponents every game be it preseason, regular season or postseason.
"This group is pretty focused and we understand how hard this is going to be,' Brind'Amour said. "To win any night, let alone in the playoffs, you have to bring your best. That's what we need to focus on."
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.