Defensive Gems: Jaccob Slavin was a game-time decision on Monday, but he was able to dress and turned in a sterling performance, as expected. He logged one shot attempt, four hits and a plus-1 rating in a team-high 21:25 of ice time. Brett Pesce missed some practice time the week prior, but he equaled a single postseason game career high with two assists (both primary helpers) and led the team with 16:28 of 5-on-5 ice time.
"We know how good [Pesce] is. You're talking about an elite defender. Playoff hockey is all about limiting chances, and he does that as well as anyone," head coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "Slavin is in the same category. Those two guys are as good as they come, and they're huge parts of what we're doing."
Premiere Event: Steven Lorentz, who was one of four Canes who made his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut in Game 1, tallied his first career NHL postseason point with the secondary assist on Teuvo Teravainen's opening goal. Nedeljkovic and Jake Bean, who won the Calder Cup with Lorentz in Charlotte in 2019, also made their Stanley Cup Playoffs debuts, as did Jani Hakanpää.
Feeling Right at Home: Capacity at PNC Arena increased to 12,000 for the beginning of the postseason, and the building was rocking for Game 1.
"It was electric. That's why you play," Brind"Amour said. "You kind of forgot about it because you haven't had it for so long. I think the guys were just like, 'Wow.' I think the people just needed something to cheer about. We had a year-and-a-half worth of just junk thrown at everybody. They let it all out last night. That's what it felt like."
Since the start of the 2006 playoffs and excluding the 2020 neutral-site postseason, the Canes are 20-10 at home in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
