Jumping on the Carolina Hurricanes’ Stanley Cup playoff bandwagon? What you need to know

College basketball is done, the Masters has been played and it’s time for what has become another rite of spring in Raleigh: the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Some spring, too.

N.C. State sent both its men’s and women’s hoops teams to the Final Four, lighting the Belltower red over and over again. Scottie Scheffler took all the suspense out of the Masters, again proving why he’s the best golfer in the world.

And the Carolina Hurricanes are in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Again.

Since Rod Brind’Amour took over as head coach, the Hurricanes have made the playoffs a perennial part of springtime in the Triangle. Brind’Amour, the captain of the 2006 Stanley Cup champions, has the Canes in the playoffs for a sixth straight season, set to pursue a second Cup for the franchise.

“It’s time to flip to playoff mode,” Brind’Amour said Tuesday as the Canes’ regular season ended.

Those college sports fans obsessing over the comings and goings of the NCAA transfer portal and who will take which NIL deals, or what conference State, Duke and North Carolina might be in one day if the ACC unravels, again can unite in being part of what has become a festive scene: tailgating and partying outside PNC Arena before playoff games and then lifting the roof in the place once the puck drops.

For those now catching up on the Canes, here are some things to know:

When do the playoffs start?

The NHL opens its playoff slate Saturday, and while complete schedules are still to be determined — with games still to be completed across the league — some game times and dates have been revealed.

The Hurricanes will open the first round of the playoffs this weekend against the New York Islanders for the second consecutive year, and will host Games 1 and 2 of the best-of-seven series at PNC Arena. Game 1 is Saturday at 5 p.m., and will be televised by both Bally and TBS.

How good was the Canes’ regular season?

Very good.

For the Canes, it ended Tuesday with a 5-3 road loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets as Brind’Amour allowed rookie forwards Jackson Blake and Bradly Nadeau to both make their NHL debuts while resting several regulars — ‘’Throw that game out,” the coach said.

With a 52-23-7 record and 111 points, the Hurricanes chased but ultimately could not catch the New York Rangers in the Metropolitan Division after winning the Metro the past two years. But it was the third straight season the Canes have won 50 or more games, the first NHL team to do that since the Detroit Red Wings in the mid-2000s.

Special teams have been a strength and will need to be in the playoffs. The Canes led the NHL in penalty killing (84.6%) and were second on the power play (26.9%) through Tuesday’s games.

“It’s been a great year for the group and I have to give them a ton of credit,” Brind’Amour said. “Now we turn the page. This is what we’ve wanted to play for all year.”

The Cup.

How’s Carolina’s health?

The last few games of the regular season ranked as “hold your breath” kind of games as Brind’Amour hoped to get to the finish line with a healthy team.

The Canes almost made it. Forward Jesper Fast crashed hard into the boards at Columbus and Brind’Amour was unsure about Fast’s status after the game.

The Canes, like many teams, had their share of injuries and health issues this season. The most troubling was Frederik Andersen’s blood-clotting issue that sidelined the team’s No. 1 goalie for 49 games.

Andersen is back and game-ready for the playoffs. Only Fast’s immediate availability is in doubt. The Swedish winger had some big playoff goals for the Canes last year.

Who’s hot, who’s not?

Sebastian Aho was the team’s MVP, again. The center led the Canes in goals (36), assists (53) and points (89) in 78 games and again was selected to play in the NHL All-Star Game. His plus-34 plus/minus rating was the team’s best, indicating his strong play at even strength, and he also had a team-high 10 game-winning goals.

Forward Seth Jarvis, a fast emerging star for Carolina, had a breakout season with 33 goals and 67 points, scoring nine game-winners. He led the Canes with 13 power-play goals while also becoming an effective player shorthanded.

One side note: Jarvis, a loquacious type, also led the team in interviews, was ever in demand and always obliged.

The Canes made a major splash at the NHL trade deadline by picking up forwards Jake Guentzel from Pittsburgh and Evgeny Kuznetsov from Washington. Guentzel, so skilled, has made a seamless and productive transition — eight goals, 25 points in 17 games with the Canes — although the transition to a new team and system has not been as smooth for Kuznetsov., who has seven points in 19 games.

How’s the goaltending?

It’s Andersen’s net to start the playoffs, with Pyotr Kochetkov able and capable of stepping in, if need be.

With Andersen sidelined, Kochetkov started 40 games and finished the regular season with a 23-13-4 record, 2.33 goals-against average and .911 save percentage. He had four shutouts and was named the NHL’s rookie of the month in February.

Andersen, who jumped back in net March 7, had a 13-2-0 record to reassert himself as the No. 1 goalie. He had a 1.84 GAA and .932 save percentage in the 16 games he has played.

Andersen started nine playoff games last season, going 5-3, and had a 1.83 GAA to go with a .927 save percentage.

What about the Islanders?

The Isles, under coach Patrick Roy, are on a heater. They made a big late push to close third in the Metro, solidify their playoff spot and set up another playoff go at the Hurricanes.

The Islanders were 8-1-1 in their last 10 games as goalie Semyon Varlamov won five straight and seven of his last eight starts. New York was 19-12-5 under Roy, who replaced former coach Lane Lambert on Jan. 20, heading into their final regular-season game Wednesday at Pittsburgh.

The Canes topped the Isles in six games in their first-round series last year, winning Game 6 on Long Island to close it out. The two teams also faced off in 2019, the Hurricanes taking a four-game sweep in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

“We knew we were going to play somebody who was going to give us a heckuva battle,” Brind’Amour said Tuesday. “We know those guys. We’ve played them a lot over the years and know what it’s all about. It’s going to be tough as nails.”

When do the playoffs start?

The Hurricanes’ quest for the Stanley Cup starts Saturday, April 20