Round 2, Game 1 Takeaways: Canes Roll To Fifth Straight Win

RALEIGH, N.C. - Second verse, same as the first.

Two weeks to the day after earning a shutout victory to open Round 1 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Carolina Hurricanes ran it back for Round 2, blanking the Philadelphia Flyers 3-0 at Lenovo Center on Saturday.

Becoming just the fifth team in NHL history to go five games without trailing to start a postseason, the Canes came out flying to stun a young Flyers team still coming down from the high of a series victory over its rival three days earlier. 

"I thought from the get-go, we had a great start," said Jordan Staal after the game. "The fans were buzzing and we were going. It's nice that the first shot goes in, that's obviously a bonus, but I thought the game was there too. Everything was off to a good start."

Before they look to do it all again in Game 2 on Monday, here's a look at how Carolina drew first blood in the second round...

The Usual Suspects...

If you thought Logan Stankoven was simply a first-round flash in the pan, he needed just 90 seconds to put that idea to bed.

Opening the scoring in a playoff game for the franchise-record fifth time as a Hurricane, Stankoven immediately cut through any external rest vs. rust concerns to put his team ahead once again.

"That was the big question, how we were going to come out, and obviously that answered that question," said Rod Brind'Amour after the game. 

Stankoven is no one-man army, however. Six minutes after his league-leading sixth goal of the playoffs, his running mate Jackson Blake took his turn in the spotlight. Darting through the neutral zone, Blake eluded Dan Vladar to double the lead and notch his second point of the contest. And that's to say nothing of do-it-all Taylor Hall, who leads the team with eight points as his playmaking and physicality have come to the forefront.

"That whole line has been a difference maker from the start of this playoff (run)," said Staal. "They've been going for a while now... They're all smart, tenacious, hardworking players that have got great skill."

Through five games, that trio has produced three game-winning goals and outchanced opponents at a team-leading rate of 39-19 (67.24%) at 5-on-5 (per Natural Stat Trick), providing an edge opponents have yet to match when facing the Canes.

"That line's been great, all three of those guys, every game," said Brind'Amour. "Not just for five playoff games, it's been months of it. Obviously, that's been the difference."

Reilly's Rally...

Late in Round 1, the Hurricanes were tested by the injury bug for the first time this postseason. Nikolaj Ehlers missed Game 4 with a lower-body concern, while Alexander Nikishin sustained a concussion in that contest, leaving both as question marks for Round 2.

Ehlers returned to action on Saturday, but Nikishin remained sidelined, opening the door for Mike Reilly to get his first taste of playoff action as a Hurricane. Nerves would have been understandable, but if Reilly was experiencing any, logging two assists in the first 7:30 of the game would certainly have calmed things down for the 32-year-old.

"I don't know if I've had two assists in the last, like, few months," Reilly said with a chuckle, crediting the aforementioned Stankoven line for finishing plays he was a part of.

"I'm definitely the extra guy, but I understand," he continued. "I'm trying to stay as ready as I can and as sharp as I can. Although at times it's not that easy, when your name gets called, you've got to be ready."

Jokes aside, Reilly's role can be a difficult one for a player to be in. Stepping into the middle of the playoffs is a lot to ask of someone who logged just 42 games during the regular season, but being able to slot in seamlessly is what makes the Glenview, Ill. native so valuable to his team.

"(Reilly) has done this all year. He's in and out, I think he missed 30 games there for a stretch and then came right in and played well. There's a value to that veteran guy that, first of all, is a pro, and he showed that tonight," said Brind'Amour.

A popular figure in the locker room, Reilly's cohorts sang a similar tune after the game.

"Mikey's a great teammate. It's hard to come in right away and fit into playoff hockey, and he hadn't played in a bit. I thought he did a great job, just keeping it simple and a couple of apples for him. That's always a good feeling," said Stankoven.

"Awesome to see what he did tonight," concurred Staal. "He's worked so hard throughout this year. Obviously, being in and out of the lineup is not easy, and for him to step in and play the way he did is huge for us. We're going to need everyone in this organization if we want to keep moving forward."

Details Are Key...

The Stankoven line continues to rightfully grab the headlines, but Carolina's hot start to the postseason is also built on the back of well-structured hockey and rousing efforts. Up and down the lineup, plays are being made that may not make it onto the scoresheet, but still heavily impact the final outcome on a nightly basis.

When penalties opened a window for Philadelphia to gain a foothold in the first period, it was Sebastian Aho astutely rotating down low to prevent a seam pass to the back door. When the team needed to turn momentum into another goal in the middle frame, it was Andrei Svechnikov providing a second layer on the forecheck, forcing a turnover that Seth Jarvis collected and put on Stankoven's tape for the dagger.

Perhaps most notably, though, it was K'Andre Miller racing up the ice at the end of a power-play shift to track down a previously penalized Flyer who had conveniently exited the box for a breakaway as his team cleared the puck, then timing his dive perfectly to swipe the puck away and eliminate the threat without committing an infraction. 

"(Miller is) one of the best skaters that we have on the team. He's so effortless in his stride and just powerful. Then, you mix in his long reach and a long stick, and it's elite out there," praised Jaccob Slavin. "It happens all the time where a forward thinks they're around him, and then his stick comes out of nowhere, pokes it around, takes it and goes the other way. You watch that night in and night out, and it's unbelievable."

After putting pen to paper on an eight-year contract with the Canes last summer, the first-year returns on Miller have been incredibly promising for a player who is still just 26 years old and continues to improve with each game.

"He's been great from day one. Seemed to just fit in seamlessly," said Brind'Amour. "He has the physical attributes, he's a great athlete, and that's what you see in those plays. That's just athletic ability; there's no scheme or anything. He's got reach and can skate, and that's what we've seen all year."

Steady Freddie...

What a story Frederik Andersen is writing. Now the franchise's all-time leader in playoff wins after collecting his 24th in red and black on Saturday, the veteran Dane has backstopped five straight victories while allowing just five goals.

A noteworthy win, sure, but to Andersen, it's just one of 16 the team needs to win the big prize in June.

"We have a goal in mind, and that's what's really important. Obviously, we've got to get there and that means getting the wins, so we'll take it. It's a team thing. We're working hard to collect wins," he said.

Andersen's even-keeled nature often belies such achievements, but it also enables him to stay in the moment. His team might be leading or trailing, he may be facing 19 shots or 39, but his approach remains the same. 

"(Andersen was) steady. Not a lot of work there for the first half of the game, but a couple of big saves to start the third, especially," said Brind'Amour. "Then at the end, we get in a little bit of penalty trouble and they pull the goalie, there's a whole bunch of flurries, but he's been solid. Can't overstate that; that's a big deal."

Carolina's vaunted penalty kill has been on another level throughout the postseason, successfully navigating a league-leading 24 of 25 shorthanded situations thus far. Credit is due all around for Tim Gleason's dedicated crew of killers, but the heaviest burden in those scenarios often falls on the shoulders of a goaltender, and Andersen has been happy to carry the weight.

"I think the first thing is Freddie," said Slavin when asked what has fueled the PK through five games. "He's coming up with big saves when there have been a couple of lapses, and sometimes you need your goaltender to be your best penalty killer."

What's Next?

The Canes' lineup regulars stayed off the ice on Sunday, instead meeting to discuss areas of improvement ahead of Monday's Game 2 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN). Dialing in the details will be crucial as the Flyers make adjustments to overcome the pressure that swept them aside in Game 1.

"You don't want to give up as many chances as we do. You look at all the plays, maybe it's getting a puck out here, or a missed clear, you're striving for greatness and when you're giving up a chance, you want to look at it and figure out how you can eliminate that," said Jordan Martinook. "I think we're no different than any other team. There are things that we can clean up, and we're going to do that and try to bring our best game every time we go on the ice."

Despite rattling off five straight wins, Brind'Amour and his group know the road only gets tougher from here.

"All these games that we've played could have gone the other way. A bounce here or there, and all of a sudden it looks different. We're always chasing the perfect game, and I have yet to see it," said the Canes' coach. "There's a lot to get better at, and we're going to have to because we know that those bounces will go the other way at some point. We need to be sharper as a group."