Workrate Hockey - May 4, 2026

The Canes went into their first round playoff series against the Ottawa Senators seemingly entrenched as heavy favorites to advance - after all, the Canes had the second best record in the NHL, and generally #1 seeds aren't supposed to lose to #8 seeds in the playoffs.

But people like to galaxy brain their brackets, and there were a decent amount of people (usually people who use extra "u"s in their spellings of "color" and "favorite", as well as people who were working in Bristol, Connecticut when the Hartford Whalers were around) who were predicting an Ottawa upset. And, to be fair to them, I could see it. The Sens went 21-6-4 in their last 31 games, which is more than a third of the season, and a 123 point pace over the course of the entire season. That's a President's Trophy pace. Meanwhile, the Canes went 22-7-2 in their last 31 games, which is a 121 point pace and just about as good at Ottawa did, but everyone remembers Brandon Bussi turning back into a pumpkin and Freddy's nine save games. The Canes were 15-7-1 in the last two months of the season, and in March were just 9-6, with three of those wins coming in overtime or the shootout. In short, they were kind of the most underwhelming dominant team in the league - which I think makes them even more dangerous.