Canadiens pounce as Hurricanes emerge from long playoff break with breakdowns, miscues
RALEIGH, N. C. (AP) — The off days added up for the Carolina Hurricanes after they swept their way to another Eastern Conference Final, leading to the longest between-rounds playoff break in more than a century.
They started out Thursday night like a team that had been waiting around for nearly two weeks, too. And that has them in yet another hole in the playoff round that keeps growing into a bigger roadblock. The Hurricanes emerged from their 11-day break, the longest rest for any team before starting the next playoff run since at least 1920, by watching the Montreal Canadiens pounce for four goals in the first 11-plus minutes.
That set the tone in what would become a 6-2 victory to open the best-of-seven series . Along the way, the team that had gone 8-0 through two playoff rounds while not allowing more than two goals in any game repeatedly racked up defensive breakdowns and missed assignments while watching the Canadiens get loose in open ice for high-end chances. “We lost the game from the start," Carolina captain Jordan Staal said.
"Obviously, giving them that many freebies, any team is going to make you pay, especially at this time of year. There wasn’t enough respect for them. They played a great game.
They were ready to roll and we weren’t. ” That will only further fuel the rest-versus-rust discussion that had followed the team since closing out Philadelphia on May 9, when the wait began for Montreal to close out Buffalo in a seven-game battle. It turned out the Hurricanes were both rested (Seth Jarvis scored an opening-minute goal for a quick start) and rusty (giving up a bevy of high-end scoring chances).
Continue to the original source for the full article.