Carolina Hurricanes know who they’ll play in second round of NHL playoffs
The Carolina Hurricanes swept their first-round NHL playoff series against the Ottawa Senators, though some might say “survive” is a more apropos descriptor based on the level of physicality the teams displayed, despite the lopsided series score.
Now, the Canes will face an opponent that has given them fits all season, one that has a longtime reputation of physicality. With a 1-0 overtime win in Game 6 over the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Philadelphia Flyers have advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and will face the Hurricanes.
During the regular season, all four games between the Canes and Flyers went to overtime. Carolina won once in OT — Seth Jarvis with the winner — and twice in a shootout before losing in a shootout in the teams’ fourth meeting of the season, on April 13.
The Canes and Flyers played a home-and-home Dec. 13-14 — first in Philadelphia, then in Raleigh. The Canes won both in shootouts, Jackson Blake and then Andrei Svechnikov getting the shootout-winning goals.
Nikolaj Ehlers and Taylor Hall each scored twice in games against the Flyers this season for Carolina.
This will mark the first playoff meeting between the teams in their franchise histories. The Canes, who started as the Hartford Whalers, are 63-74-30 all time against Philly in 167 games played.
Recently, the Hurricanes have had more success against the Flyers. Over the past 10 NHL seasons, Carolina is 24-9-3 against Philadelphia, and 16-2-1 in the past five seasons.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
This story was originally published April 29, 2026 at 11:06 PM with the headline "Carolina Hurricanes know who they’ll play in second round of NHL playoffs."
