NHL Floats Eastern Final Dates as Canes Wait on Next Foe

The league is already laying out the possible Eastern Conference Final schedule, and that tells you Carolina has one eye on the ice and one eye on the calendar. The Canes are still waiting to learn who is coming next, which is exactly the kind of limbo the NHL loves to keep tidy on paper and messy in reality. For a team with ambitions this deep in May, every possible start date matters because rest, rhythm and travel can tilt a series before the first puck drops.