The 'Boring' Hurricanes Can Finally Get Over the Hump in the Eastern Conference Final

At this point in our lives, we should know that a handful of people on social media saying something doesn't necessarily make it true. We should also know that people have different fun ideas: A-OK.

But something struck a nerve in the land of the Carolina Hurricanes when, early in the second round, the narrative emerged that they are "boring."

The Canes went on to shut down the East's No. 1-seeded Capitals in five games, punching their ticket to the Eastern Conference Final with a 3-1 win Thursday.

The social media user who claimed the Hurricanes are boring because "nothing happens all game" was spot on this time. The teams exchanged an early pair of goals to keep things tied until the final minutes of the game, when Andrei Svechnikov notched the game-winner with 1:59 left in regulation and Seth Jarvis sealed it with an empty-netter.

This series had me thinking about the last time these two teams met in the first round of the 2018-19 playoffs. It was the Hurricanes' first playoff berth in their current Cup window, the first of seven consecutive trips to the postseason in the Rod Brind'Amour era.

Do you remember how "fun" that team was? They were the "Bunch of Jerks" with the elaborate post-game celebration they named the Storm Surge. Brind'Amour, new owner Tom Dundon, and captain Justin Williams wanted to indicate to fans that after years of suffering, mediocrity, and playoff droughts, they were ushering in a new era. They were going to win in this era, and it was going to be fun.

Remember how much people hated the "fun" Hurricanes?

Old heads claimed they were making a mockery of the sport, using gimmicks and marketing to force a small-market team into relevancy. As harsh and as stuffy as the critics were, we can agree that there was savvy marketing to accompany the start of a new era, and it was somewhat to blame for initially getting the butts in the seats.

Seven years later, no help is needed in that department. The Hurricanes have upheld such a consistent system that the team that was once too fun is now too boring. It's not really a shocking development that the Canes playing the same way -- taking a bunch of shots and suppressing a bunch of shots -- has become boring to some spectators.

The Hurricanes have practiced the system so much that the core has mastered it. Turnovers in the early, perhaps more "exciting" days of this team's window have turned into maintained possession of the puck. The penalty kill is a clinic. Jaccob Slavin is in his prime. If you don't appreciate Slavin's game, that's on you, but he's kind of the master of preventing things from happening. As the Canes critics lament, they are boring because "nothing ever happens."

The Hurricanes aren't always using shots to deliberately score a goal. They know who they are, and especially after the Mikko Rantanen situation, they know they don't have the most high-end skill in the playoffs. But they are the most conditioned team in the playoffs, and they know how they can prevent high-end skill players like Alex Ovechkin from scoring: Play keep away. The most efficient way to play keep away is to maintain possession.

Then there's the cherry on top of the "nothing is happening" pie, the Canes' most important breakthrough during this run: Freddie Andersen's play. According to MoneyPuck.com, he leads all playoff goalies with a whopping 12.2 goals saved above expected through nine games. He leads in virtually every metric, with a .937 save percentage and 1.36 goals against average to boot.

No one asked, and no one cares, but I personally don't find any of this boring. I especially don't find it boring that Svechnikov has fully healed from his ACL injury and ranks No. 2 in playoff goals with eight. I don't find it boring that Seth Jarvis (and his traveling van full of childhood friends) is emerging as a unique personality and an even better talent on the ice.

We all have different ideas of fun, and again, that's A-OK. My idea of fun includes winning a game in the Eastern Conference Final, and for the first time since 2006, I think this boring Hurricanes team will pull it off.