Hurricanes' 11-day Stanley Cup playoffs layoff most since 1919 - ESPN

RALEIGH, N.C. — It's been 107 years since an NHL team had a break between two playoff series as long as the one the Carolina Hurricanes are experiencing.

The Hurricanes' last game was May 9, which completed a second-round sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers. They then watched the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres extend their series to seven games, pushing the start of the Eastern Conference finals to May 21 — 11 full days since Carolina last played.

That's the longest layoff since 1919, when Montreal had 12 full days off between series.

«You want to play so badly,» defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere said. «Obviously, it's nice to have the break, but when it goes that long, it's a little too much.»

The Hurricanes host the Canadiens in Game 1 on Thursday night in what might be the ultimate test between rest and momentum. Carolina, having also eliminated the Ottawa Senators in four games during the first round, became the first team under the modern Stanley Cup playoffs format, which began in 1987, to sweep its first two playoff series.

Montreal, meanwhile, needed a Game 7 to eliminate both the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Sabres.

Will this historic layoff benefit the Hurricanes or slow their own momentum?

«We've been trying to figure that out, honestly,» defenseman K'Andre Miller said. «We're all kind of getting to that point where we don't know if we're bored or if we're just ready to get going again. So I think this group is just excited to play another hockey game against another team other than ourselves.»

The Hurricanes have been practicing regularly through the break, Miller said, while getting «three or four days off.» The players credited coach Rod Brind'Amour with keeping them physically prepared.

«Roddy's definitely