It wouldn’t surprise me if those players didn’t get out of bed this morning after that game. The Florida Panthers and the Carolina Hurricanes just played out one of the longest, most epic playoff games in NHL history as the Panthers scored a 4th-OT winner to snatch Game 1.
How do the Hurricanes recover from a loss like that?
The Florida Panthers and the Carolina Hurricanes capped off the most epic game we’ll see all playoffs long as they fought tooth and nail for a grand total of 7 periods to eventually crown a 3-2 Panthers win in Game 1. And, even though the series still has a lot of hockey left to be played, I think the Hurricanes are all but screwed.
I really don’t know how to start off this review. Both these teams showed a level of dedication and passion to winning that no one has seen so far in these playoffs as there hasn’t been a single game to surpass the first period of overtime, let alone nearly playing 4 full extra periods of hockey.
Yes, the offense wasn’t really there as these two teams could only score a grand total of five goals in two and a third games of hockey (yeah, that’s how long they played last night), but the defensive masterclass these two teams put on display was nothing short of extraordinary.
There wasn’t a single defender that skated for less than 25 minutes last night (which is the usual average of the elite defenders), while Brett Burns (54:43 TOI), Jacob Slavin (51:41 TOI), Brandon Montour (57:56 TOI), Aaron Ekblad (52:10 TOI), and Gustav Forsling (55:41 TOI) all racked in 50+ minutes of TOI. You don’t need me to tell you how insane that is…and how it’s even crazier these two teams only allowed five goals between them.
But do you want to know what’s even crazier? Both goalies finished with save percentages of .950% or better!
With both goalies facing at least 60 shots on goal, Sergei Bobrovsky (63 saves, .969 SV%) and Fredrick Andersen (57 saves, .950 SV%) combined for 120 saves, 10 powerplay shots saved, 7 killed powerplays (and three in overtime), and over 270 minutes of TOI (278 to be exact). It’s hard enough for a goalie to keep his concentration and stamina for 60 minutes of hockey, so for these two to continually save shot after shot deep into seven periods of hockey is more than commendable.
And, in one final heap of praise, I’ve got to commend the fans and arena workers for still cheering, supporting, and helping their beloved Hurricanes as best they could as the game clocked in over six hours. Staying awake and seated for 6+ hours is definitely not easy and those fans deserved a win from their team.
Still, even with all of this praise, I don’t see how the Hurricanes recover from this loss.
Obviously, going to 4 overtimes against your opponent proves that you not only are a well-balanced, dedicated side, but also one that’s very close in terms of skill level, depth, and coaching. That’s not the issue.
The issue is that in the fourteen other games in NHL history that went into four overtime periods, the team who lost ended up on the losing end lost the series 86% (12/14) of the time.
Only the 1994 New Jersey Devils (ended up beating the Buffalo Sabres 4-3; lost 4-3 vs. Rangers in CF) and the 1943 Detroit Red Wings (ended up beating Maple Leafs 4-2; won Stanley Cup 4-0 vs. Bruins) managed to overcome a 4+ OT loss, and even these Cup-winning teams (Devils won cup in 1995) took 6-7 games to beat their opponents.
The mental toll it takes to play 2+ games of hockey in a single sitting is so monumental in its own right, and to see all that effort amount to nothing must be one of the most devastating things a hockey player can endure on the ice.
So, the Hurricanes truly have a hurricane of their own to battle in Game 2 as the Panthers, who won this game and will be absolutely buzzing, will have all the confidence and energy in the world, while they will be sapped of energy from the performance yesterday.
And, even worse, the Hurricanes really need to win tomorrow as they’ll be heading to Florida for Games 3 and 4 and going down their down 0-2 is essentially a playoffs death sentence (as the Maple Leafs found out).
I guess we’ll have to wait and see if the Canes can recover from this devastating loss, but I’m not placing any bets on it. I think the Panthers are in prime position to reach their first Stanley Cup Finals since 1996.
Images Source: Featured Image:
