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Are the Carolina Hurricanes doomed? Analyzing their chances after falling behind 3-0 to the Florida Panthers
The Carolina Hurricanes fell 1-0 in Game 3 and now trail the Florida Panthers 3-0 in the Eastern Conference finals. While it is never over until the final whistle of the fourth victory, Carolina is certainly in a heap of trouble.
In NHL history, nearly 200 teams have dropped down 3-0 in a playoff series. Of those teams, just four have overcome the deficit to win the series. That is less than 2%. Not the best odds.
The last occurrence of such comebacks came in 2014 when the Los Angeles Kings won four straight against the San Jose Sharks.
For a good reference, just think about how often each NHL club wins or loses four straight games during the regular season. And that is usually playing against different opponents all in a variety of different stages of their season.
Now imagine trying to win four straight against the same team that beat you thrice and knows everything there is to know about you. It is a tall task.
The Carolina Hurricanes may deserve better, but are they still doomed?
One positive, the Carolina Hurricanes have deserved a better fate in this series.
The Canes have heavily outshot and out-chanced the Panthers in all three games and carried much of the overall play. But some timely goals and great goaltending from the Cats have been enough to earn a 3-0 series lead. If Carolina could have found a goal or two more past Sergei Bobrovsky, this could easily have been a closer series.
But these are the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the 'ifs' don't really matter. It is all about finding a way to win 16 games, no matter how.
So are the Carolina Hurricanes doomed? Yes, they are. There is no other way to put it. When a team is streaking like the Panthers are, winning nine of their past 10, it is nearly impossible to knock them off the mountain.
Look at the 2012 Los Angeles Kings, who these Panthers have often been compared to.
LA entered the playoffs as a bottom seed in the West after dropping the final two games of the regular season. But as soon as the postseason began, they returned to the style of hockey that boosted their turnaround during the regular season. The Kings received elite goaltending from Jonathan Quick, timely goals and a few rising performances from key and under-the-radar players.
Sounds vaguely familiar.
LA became the second team in history to eliminate the first, second and third seeds from the playoffs in the same postseason, going 16-4 and 10-1 on the road during their run to the Stanley Cup.
The Carolina Hurricanes have a lot of ground to cover against a team that seems to be riding in the same boat as fate. It will be more than a tough challenge. Let's see how they handle it.
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