For most of the final weeks of the regular season, the Carolina Hurricanes knew they were locked into second place in the Metropolitan Division.
Therefore, a late-season slump did little to damage their chances at getting home-ice advantage in the first round for the fourth straight season.
The Hurricanes hope to capitalize on their success in Raleigh, N.C., starting Sunday afternoon when they open the postseason against the improved New Jersey Devils.
“When we got in the playoffs with seven or eight games left, I said that was a pretty big accomplishment, to still have that runway and kind of take a breather.” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “That says a lot about the group and the year we’ve had. It’s a good thing. It shows our standards are a little higher than in the past.”
The Hurricanes’ 31 home wins set a team record, tying them with the Los Angeles Kings for the league lead.
Carolina, which ended the season on a 1-6-1 stretch over its final eight games, has known it will face the Devils for most of the final three months of the regular season.
“We feel good, feel confident, just need to stay healthy and play our game,” Carolina’s Andrei Svechnikov said. “Just do what we do.
Most of the same cast from last year’s team which lost in Game 6 of the second round to the New York Rangers helped the Hurricanes. Sebastian Aho finished with 29 goals and 74 points and Seth Jarvis finished with 67 points for the second straight season.
The Hurricanes also are hoping for more production out of trade acquisitions Taylor Hall, Logan Stankhoven and Mark Jankowski, who combined to score 22 goals.
The Devils are in the playoffs for the second time in three seasons and only the fourth time since their 2012 run to the Stanley Cup final. They got there this season with first-year coach Sheldon Keefe, who led the Toronto Maple Leafs to five straight playoff appearances.
New Jersey beat the New York Rangers in a seven-game first-round series two years ago before falling in five to the Hurricanes. Jack Hughes, who scored six goals in the postseason two years ago, is out with a shoulder injury sustained March 2.
“He’s such a producer of offense for us,” Keefe said. “We’re not going to produce as much. It’s just the reality of it. It doesn’t mean we can’t win games, as we’ve been showing here. … You’ve got to be that much better defensively, and you’ve got to put in the chances that you do get.”
The Devils also spent the final weeks playing without Dougie Hamilton, but he returned for the regular-season finale and will play in the series.
Jesper Bratt finished with 21 goals and a career-high 88 points after totaling 83 points last season. New Jersey is hoping to see him keep producing along with captain Nico Hischier and Timo Meier.
The Devils acquired Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames last summer and he was 26-16-6 with a 2.50 goals-against average in 49 games. He was 5-7-1 in 13 games following a knee injury, however.
