Carolina Hurricanes at New York Rangers: Game 6 Preview

For the second straight series, the Carolina Hurricanes are headed on the road with a 3-2 series lead after a commanding game five win hoping to pick up a victory away from home to advance.

This time the trip is to Madison Square Garden with a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals within reach for the Canes, though getting it done Saturday night will mean winning a game on the road for the first time this postseason.

It’s been a kind of wild journey so far for Carolina. In PNC Arena, the Hurricanes are now 7-0 this postseason and have dominated most of those seven games. Away from PNC Arena, the Canes are 0-5.

While Carolina has looked mostly like a different team on the road, the Canes still aren’t overthinking it. Nor should they.

When asked how they take their game five performance on the road Thursday night, Vincent Trocheck had a pretty straightforward response.

“You just do it,” Trocheck said. “It’s kind of like beating a dead horse. We’re not winning on the road, but it’s no different really. Just be prepared.”

Game Notes

• The Carolina Hurricanes’ current five-game road playoff losing streak is the longest in franchise history.
• With productive games for a few guys who hadn’t been finding the scoresheet Thursday night in game five, nobody carries a point streak into this one. The Canes will hope the likes of Andrei Svechnikov and Trocheck get one going after scoring Thursday.
• Sebastian Aho is now the Canes’ all-time leader in playoff points and assists, and he’s still knocking on the door of Eric Staal’s goals record. Aho is two goals shy of passing Staal for most in playoff history.
• Rod Brind’Amour is 24-22 in the playoffs as the Canes’ head coach. He is one win away from tying Paul Maurice’s franchise record for playoff wins.
• The Canes finally scored a power play goal in game five. They are now 1 for 11 this series and 6 for 47 in the postseason with the man advantage.