The Carolina Hurricanes swept the New York Islanders in the Eastern Conference semifinals. On Friday night, the Hurricanes defeat the Islanders 5-1 at PNC Arena. Now they can wait and see if they play the Boston Bruins or Columbus Blue Jackets in the Eastern Conference Final.
“Did I think we were gonna win? Absolutely.” pic.twitter.com/sBez27bwpk
— Carolina Hurricanes (@NHLCanes) May 4, 2019
Important Facts About This Series
Hurricanes
For the first time in franchise history, including when they were the Hartford Whalers, the Hurricanes have swept a best-of-seven series. Since the start of the 2001-02 season, the Canes have only made four playoff appearances. During these four playoff appearances, they at least made it to the Eastern Conference Final.
Hurricanes’ captain, Justin Williams, recorded his 100th career playoff point when he scored a goal to make it 4-1. The goaltender duo of Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney have allowed five goals in the last 15 periods of play.
Justin Williams of the @NHLCanes is the 10th active NHL player to record 100 career points in the #StanleyCup Playoffs (39-61—100 in 151 GP). #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/gcjTf4wMQj
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) May 4, 2019
Islanders
The Islanders complete both of their series with the fewest amount of games possible. They are also the sixth team since 1980 (when NHL started the 16 teams playoff format) to be swept after sweeping their opponent (Pittsburgh Penguins) the round before.
The Islanders struggled to score this series, as 10 out of 18 Islanders failed to record a single point. The Islanders missed John Tavares’ offense during the series.
It was a different Islanders team when they had to play in Barclays Center for this series. The Islanders belong in Nassau and it showed the advantage they had in the series against the Penguins. There were a few observations on how Barclay’s doesn’t hold the sound the way Nassau does.
What’s next for the Hurricanes?
Sweeping the Islanders helped the Hurricanes have more days to rest for their next series against either the Boston Bruins or Columbus Blue Jackets. The series is now tied 2-2, as the Boston Bruins will host Game 5 at the TD Center.
Featured image credit: Grant Halverson of Getty Images
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