About Last Night: Going Quietly Into the Night

Teams with Stanley Cup aspirations work for 82 regular-season games to earn the right to home-ice advantage in the postseason.

The Carolina Hurricanes worked. And they earned that right.

When they reaped the benefits of all that work in Monday night’s game seven, they turned in one of the biggest no-shows in the Rod Brind’Amour head-coaching era. As a result, they saw their season end, on home ice, at the hands of a team that they beat out for the Metropolitan Division crown.

Unlike in recent seasons, these Hurricanes weren’t just happy to be there - or at least they shouldn’t have been. This team had its sights set on the Stanley Cup, and they stood a very good chance of accomplishing that…