RALEIGH — Rod Brind’Amour and Justin Williams both said Friday morning, in their own ways, that they were facing a desperate New York Islanders team in Game 4 that night, and that the Carolina Hurricanes would need to respond in kind. Considering they hadn’t been in the position of having breathing room while facing a team up against elimination, it was an open question how such a young team would respond to the situation.
Spoiler alert: they did well for themselves, and as a result they’ve booked a spot in the Eastern Conference final after a 5-2 win over the Islanders to finish off a sweep in front of a record crowd at PNC Arena on Friday.