Carolina Hurricanes find winning formula for NHL playoffs. Can they keep it up?
The Carolina Hurricanes have played five postseason games, won all five, and haven’t trailed at any point in any of them.
The last team to do that in the Stanley Cup playoffs was the Washington Capitals in 1986, when Bryan Murray was the Caps’ coach.
But Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour can be a hard man to impress, and is hardly concerned about such things. His only focus is on Game 2 of the second-round playoff series against the Philadelphia Flyers, Monday at Lenovo Center.
“We have played well,” Brind’Amour said Sunday. “But hockey’s just a random thing. You get a bounce here or there and that goes out the window. But, obviously, it helps to get ahead of it.”
Logan Stankoven’s line has seen to that for the Hurricanes, who opened the Flyers series Saturday with a 3-0 victory in Game 1. Stankoven scored the first goal in each of the first three games against the Ottawa Senators in the first-round sweep of the Sens, then again Saturday early in the first period against the Flyers.
Through the Canes’ first five playoff games, Stankoven’s line with wingers Jackson Blake and Taylor Hall has combined for 10 goals and 11 assists. They’ve had 47 shots on goal, constantly on the prowl in the offensive zone.
“They’re on a heater right now,” Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said after Game 1. “When you’re playing a confident line like that, you have to make sure you’re in front of them and make it a tough night.”
The Flyers, playing without injured forward Owen Tippett, changed up their lines during Game 1 to give the Canes different looks. They also put in a practice Sunday while the Canes opted for off-ice work.
The Flyers were 0-for-4 on the power play in Game 1. On the first three, they did not have a shot while allowing three shorthanded chances to the Canes’ penalty killers.
“Their PK is fast, they go right at you,” Tocchet said.
Canes goalie Frederik Andersen also has been on point, shorthanded and at even strength, giving up five goals in five games. He opened the Ottawa series with a shutout win and did the same Saturday against the Flyers with 19 saves.
“Everyone’s digging in, but I think the little difference might be the goaltending has been a notch up from what it had been in the regular season,” Brind’Amour said. “It was fine then, but now it has been that much better.”
The Hurricanes have two power-play goals in the first five playoff games and also were 0-for-4 Saturday while generating five shots.
Canes defenseman Alexander Nikishin was scratched from Game 1 as veteran Mike Reilly was slotted into the lineup and contributed a pair of assists. Nikishin, who sustained a concussion in Game 4 against Ottawa, took part in Saturday’s morning skate, but Brind’Amour said he “didn’t feel quite right” following the skate and sat out.
“We’re just waiting for him to give us the OK,” Brind’Amour said.
The Canes will look to continue doing all the right things, big or small, in Game 2. Defenseman Jaccob Slavin mentioned Sunday that Carolina’s “heavy pressure” style of play is effective, saying it can be “suffocating.”
The Canes will roll all four forward lines and each is capable of a strong forecheck than can wear down teams, through speed, puck pursuit and physicality.
“It’s us getting momentum behind it,” forward Jordan Martinook said Sunday. “When you see one line go and then the next line go, it’s kind of like the snowball going downhill kind of thing. ... When you get rolling, it’s hard for the other team to push back.”
The Canes would like to be sharper on the power play — Carolina is 2-for-19 in the playoffs — and sharper in the third period than they were in Game 1.
“All these games we have played could have gone the other way,” Brind’Amour said. “We’re always chasing the perfect game. I have yet to see it. There’s a lot to get better at, and we’re going to have to, because we know those bounces are going to go the other way at some point, and we need to be sharper as a group.”
This story was originally published May 4, 2026 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Carolina Hurricanes find winning formula for NHL playoffs. Can they keep it up?."
