Philadelphia (3rd place, 44-26-12) faces Carolina (6th, 43-33-6) in their 1st round match up.
The tale of two different teams recently, as Philly has lost their 4 final games of the season, while Carolina has won 3 of their final 5, and are coming off an impressive 5-1 thumping of Florida in their final game.
The teams match up well though, stats wise.
Both have an overall team GAA of 2.40, but Philly edges the goals for category by a slight 2.73-2.48 margin.
Penalty kill % is almost identical, but Carolina beats us in the PP% by 3%
All other stats are extremely close and this series has 2 very evenly matched teams. Should be exciting hockey.
The Flyers won the regular season match up, going 3-0-1 against the 'Canes, so this is a series we are looking forward to.
This is my first go at the post season, so I'm super excited for some playoff hockey!!!