The memories of the harrowing defeats in the 2023 NHL Eastern Conference Final are still alive in the minds of the Hurricanes fans. While not many may have expected it to end in four straight games, the Panthers inflicted a whitewash on their rivals to advance through. Despite the scorecard looking one-sided, every game was decided by a solitary goal, and there was hardly anything to separate the two teams. Such is the nature of the sport that the Hurricanes ended up on the receiving end. With the rematch just a few hours away, there lies an underlying question of whether the fans would see a repeat of 2023 happening.

Back in the 2023 playoffs, the Panthers shut out the Hurricanes and gave hardly anything away to their opponents. As a result, the Hurricanes weren’t able to score freely, something which was a well-thought-out strategy. However, the times have changed, and the Hurricanes have a similar playing style to the Panthers, as Seth Jones recently described. Thus, the team knows how to tackle such situations if the team is shutting them down.

Apart from this, there are also some changes as far as the personnel are concerned. Andrei Svechnikov is back to full fitness, and Frederik Andersen is at the very top of his game. Additionally, the team has also shown good discipline during crunch moments, which has taken them this far in the season. With the dynamics of the team changing completely from two years back, it is unlikely that the Hurricanes fans would experience the horrors of the 2023 series against the Panthers.

Moreover, the Hurricanes are the No. 2 seed in the Metropolitan Division, whereas the Panthers are the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Division. As a result, the Hurricanes will have home-ice advantage. With their impressive home record, it won’t be easy for the Panthers against the Hurricanes.

Ahead of the big series, the Hurricanes players are preparing in full swing to emerge victorious and take their revenge for the defeat in 2023. Some of the Hurricanes’ stars also sounded confident before taking on the Panthers.

Carolina Hurricanes players gearing up for the big fight

The Hurricanes have been high on confidence of late, especially after their dominant victory over Alex Ovechkin’s Washington Capitals. During that series, they gave hardly anything away to their opponents and sealed the series 4-1. With the Panthers offering a different challenge altogether, the Hurricanes’ stars were confident about a good showing in the Conference Finals.

Hurricanes winger, Andrei Svechnikov, said, “I think we’ve already been in a conference final and we know what’s going to happen there. It’s not going to be easy there. We’ll see who we’re going to play against, but this is the time for us to relax a little bit and get ready for the next games.”

Further, defenseman Sean Walker added, “I think honestly it’ll just be the same mindset. We don’t care who we’re going to play. We’re going to end up just doing our systems, our game plan going forward and make them play our game. Regardless of what happens, we’ll be watching, but we’ll just be preparing ourselves.”

Game 1 between the Panthers and the Hurricanes will take place at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, later today. Who are you putting your bets on to win the series? Let us know your views in the comments below.