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The Carolina Hurricanes need to defend their home ice.
That may seem like an obvious statement, but when the Canes begin second-round play for the Stanley Cup tonight, the road teams have won 32 of 52 playoff games so far, which is 62 percent.
The NBA home-court advantage is holding up, but only at 43 percent, despite some notable upsets by road teams like the eighth-seeded Heat knocking out the NBA favorite Bucks in Milwaukee and the 76ers shocking the Celtics in Boston without NBA MVP Joel Embiid.
Despite sold-court crowds at virtually every playoff game, the road warriors of the National Hockey League must not hear the home fans through their helmets and the glass barriers that surround the ice.
There was nothing in hockey history to match the first-round between the eighth-seeded Florida Panthers and the top-seeded Boston Bruins, who won more games (65) in the regular season than any team ever in the NHL.
But despite the Bruins jumping out to a 3-1 lead in the series, the Panthers got stronger, winning for the second and third times in Boston. The seventh game was one for the books, no matter who you rooted for.
The Bruins were reeling from a Game 5 overtime loss at home that sent the series back to South Florida. The Panthers survived a wild third period to win 7-5 and force a seventh game back in Boston, where they took a 2-0 in the second period. With Bruins fans in full panic mode, they finally scored and then hit the back of the net twice in the third period to take a 3-2 lead four minutes in.
Now only 59 seconds away from advancing to the second round, the Bruins allowed a late goal that tied the score and forced overtime. At that point, Florida had all the momentum from its dramatic finish to regulation. And the Panthers completed the stunner by scoring 12 minutes into sudden death OT to oust the best team in hockey for the last six months.
The Hurricanes, the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, are favored over the third-seeded New Jersey Devils and had a 24-11-6 record on the road during the regular season. And their sixth-game victory, 2-1 in overtime at the Islanders, should give them confidence against the Devils. New Jersey has one-time Carolina favorite Dougie Hamilton, who will go into PNC Arena with excitement for his new team. And, after all, they are on the road in the NHL.
The Canes fans are terrific, especially in playoff time, and will need to be at their wildest to support their home ice in these wacky playoffs.
Featured image via Associated Press/Frank Franklin II
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