Why Hurricanes had to wait NHL-record 12 days between playoff series

Why Hurricanes had to wait NHL-record 12 days between playoff series originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Hurricanes have been one of the NHL’s finest sides this postseason, charting a similar course to the one they set for themselves during the regular season.

Carolina dispatched of the Flyer in four games to secure its place in the Eastern Conference Finals. That followed a four-game beatdown at the expense of the Senators, another side unable to match the Hurricanes’ speed and athleticism.

In other words, Carolina is unbeaten through eight postseason games. With the Sabres and Canadiens’ series going seven, that has left the Canes with plenty of time to ponder on their next move. In fact, when Carolina returns to the ice for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, it will have endured one of the longest breaks between playoff games in NHL history.

Here’s what you need to know about Carolina’s historic hiatus.

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Last time Hurricanes played NHL playoff game

The Hurricanes last took the ice on May 9. They bested the Flyers, 3-2, in overtime, completing a series sweep to punch a ticket to its third Eastern Conference Finals appearance.

Carolina’s 12-day hiatus is the joint-longest in modern NHL history, per The Athletic’s James Mirtle. The Hurricanes are just the four team in league history to have a 10-day or longer wait between playoff games, joining the 1919 Canadiens, 2019 Bruins and 2003 Mighty Ducks.

Why Hurricanes are waiting 12 days between playoff series

Carolina’s 11-day hiatus is only partly of its own making. By sweeping Philadelphia in four games, the Canes ensured that they would have a lengthier break than most of their postseason counterparts. There was no way for Rod Brind’Amour’s bunch to know that the Sabres and Canadiens would lock horns for seven games. Still, their proceeding tilt forced Carolina to the sideline for longer than it would have expected.

There’s more to the story than a sweep and seven-game series. The Hurricanes started their series earlier than Buffalo and Montreal did. Carolina dispatched of the Senators in four games in the first round, while the Flyers sent the Penguins home in six. Carolina and Philadelphia’s Game 1 took place before the Canadiens completed their seven-game series against the Lightning.

By the time the Hurricanes downed the Flyers, the Sabres and Montreal were only through two games of their series.

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Longest wait between NHL playoff series

Here’s where the Hurricanes’ lengthy break ranks among the longest in modern NHL history.

*series was abandoned due to onset of Spanish flu

Of the three sides who have faced double-digit breaks between postseason games, none have won the following series. The Bruins fell to Blues in seven games. The same was true for the Mighty Ducks in their Stanley Cup tilt against the Devils. In 1919, Montreal and Seattle were level after five games, but the series was called due to the onset of the Spanish flu. Canadiens defenseman Joe Hall would die o

f the illness.