Hurricanes: what's happening and what it means

• The National Hockey League today announced that the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round series between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Carolina Hurricanes will begin on Saturday, May 2, in Raleigh. Hurricanes has emerged this Friday as one of the stories drawing attention in New Zealand.

Key facts

• - The National Hockey League today announced that the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round series between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Carolina Hurricanes will begin on Saturday, May 2, in Raleigh.
• The Hurricanes had nearly 36 minutes of penalty-kill time in their first-round sweep of the Senators, and Slavin played 24:45 of them.
• Nikolaj Ehlers didn’t play in Game 4 due to a lower-body injury after being the only Hurricanes player to suit up for all 82 regular-season games.
• With both Thursday games resulting in series finishes, the Flyers vs Canes grab the 8 PM ABC slot.
• The Hurricanes are set to practice at 11 AM Friday Morning at Lenovo center, and with an 8 PM puck drop both teams will likely go through a full morning skate on Saturday.

What we know

Going deeper, the Hurricanes had nearly 36 minutes of penalty-kill time in their first-round sweep of the Senators, and Slavin played 24:45 of them.

On the substance, Nikolaj Ehlers didn’t play in Game 4 due to a lower-body injury after being the only Hurricanes player to suit up for all 82 regular-season games.

Beyond the headlines, With both Thursday games resulting in series finishes, the Flyers vs Canes grab the 8 PM ABC slot.

More precisely, the Hurricanes are set to practice at 11 AM Friday Morning at Lenovo center, and with an 8 PM puck drop both teams will likely go through a full morning skate on Saturday.

It is worth noting that the Hurricanes and Flyers will play their first head-to-head playoff series.

By the numbers

At this stage, Game 1 of the best-of-seven series is set for 8 p.m.

On a related note, Carolina has an all-time record of 9-7 in its first series against a franchise (including a 1-2 mark from when the club was known as the Hartford Whalers), while Philadelphia is 13-7.

Going deeper, the complete schedule for the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs can be accessed here.

On the substance, From an outside view, 2025-26 probably looked like a typical season in Raleigh.

What they're saying

“I would say you need to have a recognition of when patience is called for,” Tulsky told The Athletic in an interview this week, as Carolina awaits the start of its second-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Philadelphia Flyers. “We try very hard to be aggressive and not let patience turn into contentment.

“That was a tough situation,” Tulsky said. “He had something come up in the offseason that initially seemed like it wouldn’t take that long for him to get back to playing, and we went through the return protocol and got him ready and realized that it actually needed a little more time than we thought.

“And from there, we decided patience was the right play.”

The wider context

On a related note, In an interview, Tulsky also provided updates on several injured Carolina players and discussed whether rest could make his team rusty.

Going deeper, Goalie Frederik Andersen and defenseman Jaccob Slavin have both benefitted from the patience of their teams.

On the substance, RALEIGH, N.C. — In the past few seasons, both as a Carolina Hurricanes assistant general manager and now as their GM, Eric Tulsky has participated in several aggressive moves.

Beyond the headlines, the Hurricanes didn’t sit on their collective hands this season either.

More precisely, the Hurricanes stood near the top of the standings throughout, again a legitimate contender in a league where other playoff teams are turning over at eye-popping rates.

The bottom line

• The Hurricanes had nearly 36 minutes of penalty-kill time in their first-round sweep of the Senators, and Slavin played 24:45 of them.
• The Hurricanes are set to practice at 11 AM Friday Morning at Lenovo center, and with an 8 PM puck drop both teams will likely go through a full morning skate on Saturday.
• The Hurricanes and Flyers will play their first head-to-head playoff series.
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