Dominating elite competition with relentless speed and defensive precision, Carolina’s top pairing is fueling a historic postseason run.
The Carolina Hurricanes have been red hot this postseason and are off to a historic 8-0 start after sweeping both the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers.
While a lot of attention (rightly) has been given to the likes of Frederik Andersen and the high-scoring second line, perhaps one of the most underrated aspects of the team's success has come from the blueline, specifically, the pairing of K'Andre Miller and Sean Walker.
The duo has been hands down one of the best in the entire league this postseason, dominating their minutes and holding an 8-1 edge in goals.
"That pair, you’ve got to give him them their due because they've been great," said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour. "Logging a lot of minutes against top, top competition. I mean, all year they've been doing that, and that’s one of the key reasons our defense has helped us to be where we're at."
Even beyond their even strength numbers, the two have been rock solid for Carolina in almost every other situation.
The two have yet to be on the ice for a goal against while shorthanded, helping lead the Canes to a 95% penalty kill success rate (38/40) this postseason and Miller has stepped up on the second power play unit as well, assisting on two PP goals.
But this is no surprise to anybody who was watching them closely this year.
For the regular season, Miller and Walker had the best chance share of any defensive pair to play at least 500 minutes together at even strength, outchancing opponents 1091-679.
They also had a 58% share of high-danger chances, 59% share of scoring chances and had an expected goals for percentage of 57.41%.
"We're just reading off of each other," Miller said. "I think we're playing at such an intense level right now that it's making the game just come to us really easy. I think Walks specifically, his motor is always at 120%. That makes my job as a D partner easy, just reading off of him. It's been fun to be a part of and fun to come to work and see him continuing to get better each day."
More than anything, the two have really just ran with the opportunity they've been handed in Carolina this year.
Walker took his game to another level, going from a depth third-pairing guy last year to the blueline's only 82-game player, doubling his offensive production and averaging over five more minutes a game.
"I think it's just been about consistency throughout the year," Walker said. "Not trying to overextend myself and play within the game plan. We have a great group so when everyone is doing it the same way, it makes it easy on everybody."
"He's such a competitor," Brind'Amour said. "That's why we love him."
Miller meanwhile had a bounce back to form after a tough final season in New York that saw him take on a lot of the ire of media and fans.
In Carolina, he was the second highest producing blueliner and became yet another elite, shutdown defender on that left side.
"I've been paired with Key for a lot of the year and he's unbelievable," Walker said. "I think we just kind of feed off of each other pretty well and it's been going well. I like to think I'm playing pretty good, but he's just been unbelievable. I think he's on another level right now. Just his abilities, his stick, his skating, his physicality, the plays he makes every night has made it easy on me and I'm just trying to help him out whatever I can."
And if they weren't already good enough, they're more than likely going to have even more fuel in the tank this series as both recently became first time fathers.
Miller and Walker each became dads within one week of each other during the team's second round series against the Flyers.
"It's pretty unique," Miller said. "It's probably the first time two D-partners have had babies in the same series. It's a pretty cool experience and I know we're both really excited to be dads."
Carolina will take on the Montreal Canadiens Thursday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final following a record 12-days between games.
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.