Canes Return To Practice, Await Eastern Conference Final Foe

RALEIGH, N.C. - After a pair of well-earned days off the ice following their five-game expunging of the Washington Capitals, the Carolina Hurricanes laced up their skates again and returned to honing their craft on Sunday.

It's cliche, and it's spoken all year long, but today, all the Canes could focus on was "their game." Still unsure of who they're going to face in the upcoming Eastern Conference Final, it was all about ensuring their details are sharp, no matter who emerges from tonight's Game 7 between the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs.

"We don't even know who we're playing yet, so we're just keeping our window small. [We wanted to] come out, have a good practice today, and we'll see who we play tonight," Taylor Hall said. "[We'll] start dialing in on what we have to do to match up against them, but at the same time, we're really focused on how we're doing and what we're doing. We're pretty healthy and we feel good about how we played in the series (against Washington)..."

Regardless of who steps up as the winner, Rod Brind'Amour and the Canes know they'll be facing a good team. It's either going to be the defending Stanley Cup Champions back battling for a third consecutive Eastern Conference Championship, or a hungry group, led by talented superstars, showing that they do have what it takes to get it done this time of year.

A victory on the road for Florida would mean that Carolina will have home ice advantage, hosting Games 1 and 2 to start the series. If Toronto gets it done, the best-of-seven will begin north of the border.

Chatfield's Status...

Whether it was gamesmanship or the truth, Rod Brind'Amour said that he expected defenseman Jalen Chatfield (undisclosed injury) to be good to go for what wound up being the decisive Game 5 in D.C. As we know now, that did not happen. Alexander Nikishin made his long-awaited NHL debut, thrust into what Brind'Amour called "a tough spot".

Chatfield got another day off the ice on Sunday, but the head coach still remains hopeful that he'll be good to go for Tuesday.

"Obviously, we’ll see as we get closer. He’s such a big part of it," Brind'Amour said of the right-handed blueliner. "It looks a little different when he’s not in there, that’s for sure.”

Should Chatfield not be ready to go, the group has confidence in the 23-year-old Nikishin, who impressed during his limited time in his first appearance.

"He did great out there. [That's a] tough hand being dealt. I don't think he played a game in a month or two and your first NHL game is in a series-clinching game," Shayne Gostisbehere, who played with Nikishin for most of his five-on-five minutes, said. "He played some big minutes, and he made some great plays out there. You could see it, he's a great player, and as he gets a hold of this system, he's going to be really good."

In addition to Chatfield, his usual partner, Dmitry Orlov, did not skate today either. Brind'Amour did not provide an update on Orlov's status but said he "hopes" to have everyone ready for Tuesday's tilt, naming Chatfield the only real question mark.

Using The Break To Their Advantage...

Following tonight's Game 7, the Canes will either practice and fly to Toronto on Monday, or they'll practice and await a Florida Panthers team flying to RDU after an emotional series-clinching win.

Although they wish they knew their schedule now, the Canes are happy to be in their situation, grateful they took care of their previous series in five games and earned themselves a four-day break between games.

“It’s obviously good. The less wear and tear, the better," Brind'Amour said. "At the end of the day, whether it takes seven, or four, or anywhere in between, you don’t care how you get it done. Moving on now, we’ve got to focus on the next one. We’re happy that we’re here and all of that, but we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

The ability alone to have two days off the ice and two days back on before returning to game action has the locker room feeling good about their approach.

"The coaching staff and our trainers do a good job of making sure that we stay active and we're not just sitting on the couch waiting for our next game. We do workouts, mobility, and other things. When we do have practice, we make sure it's high-tempo so that when the game comes next, we're ready to go," Logan Stankoven said.

Hall echoed a similar feeling.

"There's a lot of benefit to (the break). Even yesterday, being able to get a workout day in. You don't get to go into the gym as much this time of year if you're playing," the newly extended forward said. "If you're playing every second day, you're focused on rest and recovery. For us to sleep in our own beds a couple of times, get a workout in, get a practice, and another one tomorrow, it's a good schedule."