Wide World of Women

The Carolina Hurricanes are coming off a dream season that saw them end a long playoff drought and go all the way to the Eastern Conference Final. Despite being derailed by a crippling injury to defensemen Dougie Hamilton, the Canes continued their momentum from the the previous season, and are in contention to obtain one of the eight remaining spots in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Also in contention, a team that had quite a few question marks, the New York Rangers. The Rangers were up-and-down for most of the year, but they ended up in this situation with a few points just before the pause; the last one being an OT loss to Colorado. The Rangers look to prove that they do belong, and after careful thought, I can see NYR actually pulling off an upset over last season's East runners-up.

Prediction: Rangers in 5

#1

Hurricanes 3, Rangers 2

Jaccob Slavin scores the first goal of the restart 61 seconds into the game; Canes add two more and take Game One.

Hurricanes 4, Rangers 1

Andrei Svechnikov's hat trick (first playoff hat trick in Whalers/Hurricanes history) puts Carolina one win away from the Sweet 16.

Hurricanes 4, Rangers 1

The Carolina Hurricanes complete the sweep and become the first team to advance from the Qualifying Round and into the traditional Stanley Cup Playoffs.