The Canes, who bested the Nashville Predators in six games, will face the defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning, who ousted the Florida Panthers in the First Round. This marks the first-ever playoff series between the Canes and Lightning, two old Southeast Division rivals.
Both Carolina and Tampa Bay finished with a 4-3-1 record in the regular-season series, while the Canes held a slight 18-17 edge in goals. The Lightning, who won the Stanley Cup inside the Edmonton bubble in Sept. 2020, have won five straight best-of-seven playoff series without facing elimination, becoming the 15th team in NHL history to do so and the first since the Los Angeles Kings (2012-13).
"They are the defending champs. There's a reason for that. They're a really good team," Sebastian Aho said. "We have to play our best to beat them."
"We're getting the Stanley Cup champs. We know what we're up against. We're going to have to be as good as we can to have a chance against these guys," head coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "It's a great challenge for us. We'll give it all we've got."
As the Central Division champions, the Canes have home ice advantage and will host Games 1 and 2 and, if necessary, Games 5 and 7.
Game 1 is set for 5 p.m. on Sunday, May 30 at PNC Arena. A full Second Round schedule is forthcoming. With capacity at PNC Arena increased to
more than 15,000
, tickets for Canes home games in the Second Round
are now on sale
.
The Carolina Hurricanes 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs are powered by DieHard. DieHard batteries are available at Advance Auto Parts and participating Carquest locations nationwide.
