We all know there are five games still to be played, anything can happen, the Canes have fallen short before, there's a lot of hockey left — all that.
But let's say the Canes do make the Stanley Cup playoffs. We've seen 'em play the Bruins, Caps, Devils and Flyers.
Question: Should the Canes make it, which team would they match up best against in the first round, and why?
The floor is open.
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at 
Comments
Remember Last Year; Let's win games first
Tue, 03/31/2009 - 10:56 — abramsdougI remember watching last year as the Stanley Cup Playoffs vanished before my eyes. I think it is premature to talk about the playoffs. Let's learn from last year's collapse and stay focused on the task at hand. There are four remaining home games. Each one is critical in its own way. I for one am waiting until the season ends to think about the playoffs. It's a very long Spring and Summer when one's team is on the outside looking in.
My thoughts are
Tue, 03/31/2009 - 08:21 — esteban1949That we wait and see and take the next 5 games as they come. Personally If we do get into the first round. I'd like us to play Philly. and then go from there. But only time will tell.
Go Canes !!
there talking about the
Mon, 03/30/2009 - 18:47 — jejohn8there talking about the hurricanes on versus guys are talking about which team is most feared in the eastern conf.
doc emrick said the hurricanes
How awesome would this be?
Mon, 03/30/2009 - 16:21 — irbefanJust a while ago I saw the "If the playoffs started today" thing on NHL.com and I was amazed to see this:
(1) Boston v (8) Montreal
-historic matchup between two fierce rivals.
(2) New Jersey v (7) New York Rangers
-Avery v Broduer, long standing bad blood from past series
(3) Washington v (6) Pittsburgh
-Ovechkin v Crosby, nuff said
(4) Philidelphia v (5) Carolina
-i suppose all of the trade history creates a rivalry
How cool would that be. Great for NHL marketing!
Playoffs
Mon, 03/30/2009 - 14:27 — garybdiverOK. First of all I like our chances. But I agree with C-Leauger, let's get in first before we have this conversation. At least the marketing group learned from last year and haven't been advertising playoff's or giving tickets away on radio stations like they did last year.
Marketing risks
Mon, 03/30/2009 - 16:03 — JRs_FaultGiving away a playoff ticket that can't be used isn't such a big risk... remember what Florida did in early Feb, when they were much higher on the ladder prior to their annual March plunge??
http://panthers.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=408477&page=NewsPage&service=page
I guess it could be argued that they're giving away regular season tickets that would have gone unsold anyway.
Or
Mon, 03/30/2009 - 19:24 — garybdiverThey could have ticked the hockey gods off enough to make them lose.
Who we don't want to play
Mon, 03/30/2009 - 11:14 — GoShelfI am not crazy about having this conversation until there is an x next to our name, but since Chip put it out there - might as well.
I probably want to play Boston the least, they're big, physical, have smoothering d'fense, and get good goaltending, which might make for a very short series against us. I also don't want to play NJ in 1st round, I want to play them in the second round (make it somewhat similar to '06 and not '02). That leaves either Wash. or Phillie, which would both be exciting, although I'd rather beat Wash. w/Ovetchpunk than Phillie w/Richards. Nevertheless, until we're there, it's somewhat of a pointless exercise.
the avery rule!!
Mon, 03/30/2009 - 10:52 — jejohn8the rangers and devils play tonight on versus
remember avery stick waving in front of brodeur in the playoffs last year.
that dude cracks me up.
should be exciting to watch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ec_2oKWe2Gw
Playoffs...
Mon, 03/30/2009 - 09:09 — penaltykiller74I know there is a chance that we can sneak OUT of the playoffs (1.64%), but that would take a miracle.
If we lost every game here out...
Florida would still need to win 3 out of 6. Not impossible but they play Washington, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh, they're in right now. And they play Atlanta twice and Ottawa, they're out for sure, and would love to be spoilers. Getting three against those teams will be tough for them. (34.2% chance)
Buffalo, would need to win 5 out of 7. They play Boston, Washington, New Jersey, Detroit, and Carolina, all in right now. And they play Atlanta and Toronto. Tough matchups with two spoilers. Getting 5 against them would be near impossible. (18.8% chance)
I think more the debate is who we will face and IF we could get home ice advantage. If we won every game here on out, Philadelphia would still only need to win 4 out of 7. All there games are against lower ranked teams, so the spoiler factor is there, and 4 of their games are on the road. But this is only IF we streak out to the end of the season.
So with that in mind, I'm updating my prediction from a month ago where I say we squeak in with 91(funny now), to 5th seed with 97 points.
That puts us against the Flyers, which I think we can handle in 6.
Just for kicks... I see the next round against Washington, also win in 6 and then the Eastern finals against Pittsburgh. I won't be so bold to predict that one, anything can happen by then. Yeah I will...
Canes in 7. Playing against Calgary in the finals with a good chance to win it all.
Go Canes!!!
i smell another cup run in
Mon, 03/30/2009 - 09:08 — jejohn8i smell another cup run
in order of finish
1 boston
2 washington
3 new jersey
4 philly
5 carolina
6 pittsburgh
7 rangers
8 mtl
1st round
boston over mtl
washinton beats rangers
piitsburgh beats new jersey
carolina over philly
boston vs pittsburgh
carolina wins over caps
boston and carolina in the EC finals
in 7
I'm a believer in this team.
Mon, 03/30/2009 - 09:06 — caneshockeyfanI'm a believer in this team. Despite my comments from earlier in the season, I think the Canes are a playoff hockey team and I'm confident they'll get in. The past couple weeks the Canes have kept other teams out of the center of the ice and it has made all the difference. They're winning up-for-grabs games consistently. Life is good. Most importantly the boys look like they're having a lot of fun out there. Every single player and the staff deserve a lot of credit.
But, nothing's done yet. Not until you see a little 'x' next to 'Hurricanes' in the standings.
To answer the debate question - I like the Canes chances against any team but the Bruins. The B's are downright scary. I don't see how any team gets past them to the Finals. I think the only thing that stops them in the Eastern Conference is an injury to a key player. The Devils are probably next on that list, but Carolina has proven they can play with NJ.
I think a physical first round matchup won't hurt Carolina if they advance deeper into the playoffs. In 2002 and 2006 they played the Devils early and came out of it fine. Go Canes!
Caps or Devils
Mon, 03/30/2009 - 08:54 — JRs_FaultI think we match up best against the Caps (mokimano provided a good summary) and the Devils, we always seem to have their number in the playoffs and seem to understand what it takes to beat Marty (hint: you don't score if you don't put the puck on net... rinse & repeat & repeat & repeat)
The Canes have had trouble with the more physical teams in the league. Yes, they've upped their game in this area in the last couple of months, but I still would not want to go up against the B's early.
The Flyers (Biron) have been playing better lately and I don't agree that they're looking vulnerable. Briere is back in the lineup and contributing & Hartnell/Carter & co. are always a dangerous team.
Having said that, if they can keep playing the way they have been, stay in the top 8... anything can happen. Cam is on a tear, and that's a key thing to have from April forward.
Too Early
Mon, 03/30/2009 - 08:46 — C_LeaguerUntil the team clinches a spot I don't care who they play, as long as they play someone. This would have been better served for next Monday as by then the Canes will hopefeuly have clinched a spot in the top 8.
"All that"
Mon, 03/30/2009 - 08:24 — Biff_BeersWe need to win 2 or 3 more games before we have this conversation. I like our chances this time around, but I don't want to talk about playoffs until we get clear of two more teams.
Ditto
Mon, 03/30/2009 - 15:54 — CaniacGuyTotally agree with that, Biff
Bring It
Mon, 03/30/2009 - 08:18 — NetMinderRight now, if the Canes aren't playing the best hockey in the NHL, they're close. If they keep playing like this, they could go deep in the playoffs. A key will be whether or not the Canes can sneak into fourth and secure home ice advantage. Should they do that, the way things now stand they'd meet the Pens in the first round (if the Pens stay on their current roll they'll easily overtake the Flyers). The Pens, like the Canes, are playing their best hockey of the season. A Pens-Canes first round matchup would be a nail biter. We have a pretty good record against the Caps and Devils, and the revitalized Canes could very easily surprise the Bruins and Flyers. The Pens are a scary team — we'll learn a lot when they come to town on April 4th — but home ice advantage could be the difference maker.
The way things are shaping
Mon, 03/30/2009 - 07:55 — mokimanoThe way things are shaping up, the Canes seem to be on a collision course with the Caps in a 3 vs 6 matchup in round 1. I dont think the Canes want any part of Zdeno Chara and the Bruins, that beast will play 35 minutes a game on the blueline and the Canes have not played the B's well this season. The Devils and Brodeur are always tough in a long, seven game series. The Caps to me have questionable goaltending in Theodore, a shaky defense and still have not shown that they are much of a team after you get by their top line with Ovechkin. The Canes are firing on all cylinders right now and I would welcome a first round battle with the Caps the most, there would be no problems for the Canes getting up for a series emotionally if they were to play the Crapitals...
I like our chances...
Mon, 03/30/2009 - 05:22 — Canenut... against any of the teams in front of us. We have proved that we can beat the Caps (3-2-1) and the Devils (3-0). We have not played the Flyers or Bruins since we have become a better defensive team so it would be interesting. If the D continues to play well and help the offence then I think we would be able to win a series against any of them.
Thanks go out to the Bruins, 4-2 over Flyers, keeping them within a point.
Go Canes!
Agree on the Flyers
Mon, 03/30/2009 - 04:23 — gso_canes_fanAgree on the Flyers being the team where we would have a better chance. Whatevever happens you hate to watch the scoreboard the next three days-almost as bad as watching the Dow and your 401K's
I think the Flyers are the
Mon, 03/30/2009 - 02:46 — James_I think the Flyers are the most vulnerable, and I feel like we could beat the Caps but you always hate to see teams that hate each other (canes-caps) play in the first round because the games are especially physical and draining. If we played the Caps and won I'm not sure we'd have enough in the tank for the second round, and visa versa.