Hurricanes end regular season with loss to Predators. The playoffs are next.
.JPG "Nashville Predators center Matt Duchene (95) celebrates with Nick Cousins (21) after Duchene scored a goal against the Carolina Hurricanes during the second period of an NHL hockey game Monday, May 10, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)")
On to the playoffs.
The Carolina Hurricanes and Nashville Predators took care of one final bit of business in the regular season on Monday, and the Predators came away with a 5-0 victory at Bridgestone Arena.
Matt Duchene scored twice and goalie Pekka Rinne, the old pro, had a vintage performance in net for the Predators, making 30 saves in his 60th career shutout, and his 369th career win.
Rocco Grimaldi’s shorthanded goal gave Nashville an early lead, and Tanner Jeannot added a second shorthanded score in the first minute of the third. Ryan Johansen had a power-play goal in the second period for the Predators.
None of that will matter when the Canes and Predators face off in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The date and time of Game 1 has yet to be announced by the NHL.
Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said his team would quickly “flush” the game and move on, saying he was looking forward to having some practice time this week leading up to Game 1.
“We need to get the tempo up,” Brind’Amour said. “We haven’t practiced in a month, had a real practice where I could push the guys and get our pace back.
“You could see it tonight. To me, you could see it the last two weeks. Once we clinched I could see we got off the gas a little. We need to get that back. I don’t know when we start (the playoffs) but we’ll have some time to do that hopefully and get back to the way we’ve got to play.”
Was Monday’s game some kind of statement game? Hard to say, with Brind’Amour holding five regulars out of the lineup. The Hurricanes made six statements of their own during the season, going 6-2-0 against Nashville, and have won 13 of the past 16 games against the Preds.
The Canes (36-12-8) won the Central Division. The Predators (31-23-2) were fourth. That’s a statement.
One interesting development Monday was an announcement that the Predators have been given approval to have 12,135 fans at their home playoff games. That seating increase, from 40 percent capacity to 70 percent, could be a factor, even with the Canes holding the home-ice advantage in the opening round.
Brind’Amour is hopeful of having a full complement of players. Sitting out Monday’s game were forwards Jordan Staal and Andrei Svechnikov, and defensemen Jaccob Slavin, Dougie Hamilton and Brett Pesce.
Brind’Amour remains hopeful that Slavin, who suffered a lower-body injury Saturday in a 3-1 loss to Nashville, will be ready to play in Game 1 of the playoffs.
With three defensemen out, Joey Keane was recalled Monday from the Chicago Wolves of the AHL and made his NHL debut for the Hurricanes. The defenseman, 21, took the customary solo lap before the pregame warmup, a thrill for the Chicago native, and had 19:34 of playing time.
“It was a pretty surreal experience,” Keane said. “From the first puck drop I was not thinking, just in the moment.”
The Canes were winless in their last three games of the regular season, including the two regulation losses to the Predators. Both games had a physical edge to them as the Predators first clinched a playoff spot, then wanted to win for Rinne.
Canes forward Max McCormick dropped the gloves and traded punches with Tyler Lewington in the first period.
“We know we’re playing them in the first round and both teams know that,” McCormick said. “I think they’re just trying to send a little bit of a message there, and I think that’s just a little bit of a foreshadow of the battle that’s ahead for Game 1.”
One of Brind’Amour’s biggest decisions will be deciding on a No. 1 goalie — Petr Mrazek or Alex Nedeljkovic. Mrazek was the starter Monday, taking a 10-1-0 career record against Nashville into the game. Mrazek faced 27 shots.
Brind’Amour said that a decision on the goalies — and on other lineup positions — has not been made, saying there are some “question marks.”
This story was originally published May 10, 2021 at 7:28 PM with the headline "Hurricanes end regular season with loss to Predators. The playoffs are next.."
