It’s March 4, and the Carolina Hurricanes are in a playoff spot. By most calculations among people that track these things, they have somewhere around a 3-in-4 chance of making the postseason. Moneypuck.com even has them listed with the fifth-highest chance to win the Stanley Cup and, not only that, second only to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the probability of winning the Eastern Conference.
Not the Toronto Maple Leafs. Not the Boston Bruins. Not even the defending champion Washington Capitals. The Carolina Hurricanes!