Hurricanes' 11-day Stanley Cup playoffs layoff most since 1919

RALEIGH, N.C. -- It's been 107 years since an NHL team had a break between two playoff series as long as the one the Carolina Hurricanes are experiencing.

The Hurricanes' last game was May 9, which completed a second-round sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers. They then watched theMontreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres extend their series to seven games, pushing the start of the Eastern Conference finals to May 21 -- 11 full days since Carolina last played.

That's the longest layoff since 1919, when Montreal had 12 full days off between series.

"You want to play so badly," defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere said. "Obviously, it's nice to have the break, but when it goes that long, it's a little too much."

The Hurricanes host the Canadiens in Game 1 on Thursday night in what might be the ultimate test between rest and momentum. Carolina, having also eliminated the Ottawa Senators in four games during the first round, became the first team under the modern Stanley Cup playoffs format, which began in 1987, to sweep its first two playoff series.

Montreal, meanwhile, needed a Game 7 to eliminate both the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Sabres.

Will this historic layoff benefit the Hurricanes or slow their own momentum?

"We've been trying to figure that out, honestly," defenseman K'Andre Miller said. "We're all kind of getting to that point where we don't know if we're bored or if we're just ready to get going again. So I think this group is just excited to play another hockey game against another team other than ourselves."

The Hurricanes have been practicing regularly through the break, Miller said, while getting "three or four days off." The players credited coach Rod Brind'Amour with keeping them physically prepared.

"Roddy's definitely going to make us fall in line here and keep us going on and off the ice for sure," Gostisbehere said. "Had a little taste of it between Round 1 and 2, same thing. So, I think for us, just a veteran group in here so we know what to handle and we just got to put our best foot forward."

Brind'Amour credited video coach Chris Huffine with keeping the players' minds sharp during film sessions.

"He's the guy that prepares our team. I get the final say on how we go about it, but these eight years that I've been here, he's the guy I lean on the most," said Brind'Amour, who is coaching in his fourth conference finals.

That said, the longest playoff layoff in over a century did afford the players a mental break from the playoff grind.

"Getting away from the rink and kind of letting your brain reset for a second," Miller said. "You obviously get into such high-intensity situations through these playoffs, just really getting the opportunity to take that rest is big for this team."

Miller added that he personally didn't have a choice in shifting gears mentally, having welcomed a baby boy named Kashton on May 2.

"Changing diapers. Doing the real stuff," Miller said with a laugh.

Some Hurricanes said the best thing about getting back into a playoff series is no longer having to talk about not playing in one.

"I think answering a lot of the same questions is the toughest thing," said goalie Frederik Andersen, who leads the playoffs with a .950 save percentage. "But yeah, when you're up 3-0, I don't think there's anyone in the world that would say you'd rather go play Game 5. That's silly.

"One less game of your defense taking extra big hits and stuff like that is beneficial. So, if you've got Door 1 and Door 2, I think you take the door with the one less game and close the series out."br/]