The Carolina Hurricanes have been legitimate Stanley Cup contenders for a much of Rod Brind’Amour’s tenure as the team’s head coach but haven’t been able to get over the hump. Considering they just earned the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time in franchise history, this finally could be their time.
Carolina finished the 2025-26 NHL season with a conference-high 113 points as it won its third Metropolitan Division title in five campaigns. The club, which reached the conference final in three of Brind’Amour’s seven seasons behind the bench and two of the last three, begins its quest for an elusive Stanley Cup Final appearance against the Ottawa Senators in the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Fans who want to wager on the 2026 NHL Playoffs need to see the latest BetMGM promo code.
The Hurricanes lost to the Boston Bruins in the 2019 Eastern Conference Final during Brind’Amour’s first season as head coach and were defeated by the Florida Panthers in that same round in both 2023 and 2025. They haven’t gotten to the Stanley Cup Final since 2006, when they beat the Edmonton Oilers in seven games with Brind’Amour serving as team captain and finishing second among all players with 12 playoff goals.
Ottawa is looking to win its first postseason series since reaching the Eastern Conference Final in 2017. The Senators failed to qualify for the playoffs each of the next seven campaigns and lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round in 2024-25.
The Hurricanes and Senators are meeting in the postseason for the first time. Carolina won two of the three regular-season meetings between the teams, defeating Ottawa 4-1 and 4-3 while dropping a 6-3 decision.
Use the latest DraftKings promo code to wager on NHL games.
The NHL betting odds at the major sportsbooks see the Hurricanes as the favorites in the first-round series, with futures betting odds in the -170 to -190 range. Meanwhile, the Senators are priced from +142 to +155. Learn how to read betting odds here.
|
EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST-ROUND SERIES |
||||
|
TEAM |
DRAFTKINGS |
FANDUEL |
CAESARS |
BETMGM |
|
Carolina Hurricanes |
-170 |
-172 |
-190 |
-180 |
|
Ottawa Senators |
+145 |
+142 |
+155 |
+150 |
Pick: Hurricanes to advance
Brind’Amour basically has split Carolina’s goaltending duties this season between first-year netminder Brandon Bussi (39 starts) and veteran Frederik Andersen (35). The crease has often been a sore spot for the Hurricanes in the postseason, as seven different players have made at least three starts for the team during its seven appearances under Brind’Amour. None have been able to provide the consistency needed to win a championship.
The 36-year-old Andersen has been the main man between the pipes each of the last three postseasons but often failed to make big saves when needed and was torched in three of his four starts against Florida in last year’s conference final. Therefore, it might be in Brind’Amour’s best interest to give the nod to the 27-year-old Bussi, who posted a 31-6-2 record and entered the final two days of the regular season ranked sixth in the NHL with a 2.47 goals-against average.
Bet on the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs with the FanDuel promo code.
Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis and Andrei Svechnikov will provide much of the offense for the Hurricanes, but they’re hoping Nikolaj Ehlers will be the piece that helps them achieve their ultimate goal. The 30-year-old Danish left wing signed a six-year, $51 million contract in July after spending his first 10 NHL seasons with the Winnipeg Jets and set career highs this season with 45 assists and 71 points.
Drake Batherson had his most productive campaign for the Senators, registering 33 goals and 71 points to finish second on the club in both categories, behind Tim Stutzle (34, 83). But the Hurricanes have much more postseason experience and seemed like a team on a mission this season, and I don’t see Ottawa spoiling their plans.
Bet on NHL futures odds, including Hurricanes vs. Senators, with the latest Caesars Sportsbook promo code.
require.config({“baseUrl”:”https://sportsfly.cbsistatic.com/fly-552/bundles/sportsmediajs/js-build”,”config”:{“version”:{“fly/components/accordion”:”1.0″,”fly/components/alert”:”1.0″,”fly/components/base”:”1.0″,”fly/components/carousel”:”1.0″,”fly/components/dropdown”:”1.0″,”fly/components/fixate”:”1.0″,”fly/components/form-validate”:”1.0″,”fly/components/image-gallery”:”1.0″,”fly/components/iframe-messenger”:”1.0″,”fly/components/load-more”:”1.0″,”fly/components/load-more-article”:”1.0″,”fly/components/load-more-scroll”:”1.0″,”fly/components/loading”:”1.0″,”fly/components/modal”:”1.0″,”fly/components/modal-iframe”:”1.0″,”fly/components/network-bar”:”1.0″,”fly/components/poll”:”1.0″,”fly/components/search-player”:”1.0″,”fly/components/social-button”:”1.0″,”fly/components/social-counts”:”1.0″,”fly/components/social-links”:”1.0″,”fly/components/tabs”:”1.0″,”fly/components/video”:”1.0″,”fly/libs/easy-xdm”:”2.4.17.1″,”fly/libs/jquery.cookie”:”1.2″,”fly/libs/jquery.throttle-debounce”:”1.1″,”fly/libs/jquery.widget”:”1.9.2″,”fly/libs/omniture.s-code”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/jquery-mobile-init”:”1.0″,”fly/libs/jquery.mobile”:”1.3.2″,”fly/libs/backbone”:”1.0.0″,”fly/libs/underscore”:”1.5.1″,”fly/libs/jquery.easing”:”1.3″,”fly/managers/ad”:”2.0″,”fly/managers/components”:”1.0″,”fly/managers/cookie”:”1.0″,”fly/managers/debug”:”1.0″,”fly/managers/geo”:”1.0″,”fly/managers/gpt”:”4.3″,”fly/managers/history”:”2.0″,”fly/managers/madison”:”1.0″,”fly/managers/social-authentication”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/data-prefix”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/data-selector”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/function-natives”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/guid”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/log”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/object-helper”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/string-helper”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/string-vars”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/url-helper”:”1.0″,”libs/jshashtable”:”2.1″,”libs/select2″:”3.5.1″,”libs/jsonp”:”2.4.0″,”libs/jquery/mobile”:”1.4.5″,”libs/modernizr.custom”:”2.6.2″,”libs/velocity”:”1.2.2″,”libs/dataTables”:”1.10.6″,”libs/dataTables.fixedColumns”:”3.0.4″,”libs/dataTables.fixedHeader”:”2.1.2″,”libs/dateformat”:”1.0.3″,”libs/waypoints/infinite”:”3.1.1″,”libs/waypoints/inview”:”3.1.1″,”libs/waypoints/jquery.waypoints”:”3.1.1″,”libs/waypoints/sticky”:”3.1.1″,”libs/jquery/dotdotdot”:”1.6.1″,”libs/jquery/flexslider”:”2.1″,”libs/jquery/lazyload”:”1.9.3″,”libs/jquery/maskedinput”:”1.3.1″,”libs/jquery/marquee”:”1.3.1″,”libs/jquery/numberformatter”:”1.2.3″,”libs/jquery/placeholder”:”0.2.4″,”libs/jquery/scrollbar”:”0.1.6″,”libs/jquery/tablesorter”:”2.0.5″,”libs/jquery/touchswipe”:”1.6.18″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.core”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.draggable”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.mouse”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.position”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.slider”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.sortable”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.touch-punch”:”0.2.3″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.autocomplete”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.accordion”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.tabs”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.menu”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.dialog”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.resizable”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.button”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.tooltip”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.effects”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.datepicker”:”1.11.4″}},”shim”:{“liveconnection/managers/connection”:{“deps”:[“liveconnection/libs/sockjs-0.3.4″]},”liveconnection/libs/sockjs-0.3.4”:{“exports”:”SockJS”},”libs/setValueFromArray”:{“exports”:”set”},”libs/getValueFromArray”:{“exports”:”get”},”fly/libs/jquery.mobile-1.3.2″:[“version!fly/utils/jquery-mobile-init”],”libs/backbone.marionette”:{“deps”:[“jquery”,”version!fly/libs/underscore”,”version!fly/libs/backbone”],”exports”:”Marionette”},”fly/libs/underscore-1.5.1″:{“exports”:”_”},”fly/libs/backbone-1.0.0″:{“deps”:[“version!fly/libs/underscore”,”jquery”],”exports”:”Backbone”},”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.tabs-1.11.4″:[“jquery”,”version!libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.core”,”version!fly/libs/jquery.widget”],”libs/jquery/flexslider-2.1″:[“jquery”],”libs/dataTables.fixedColumns-3.0.4″:[“jquery”,”version!libs/dataTables”],”libs/dataTables.fixedHeader-2.1.2″:[“jquery”,”version!libs/dataTables”],”https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/app/VideoPlayer/AdobePass-min.js”:[“https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/util/Utils-min.js”]},”map”:{“*”:{“adobe-pass”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/app/VideoPlayer/AdobePass-min.js”,”facebook”:”https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js”,”facebook-debug”:”https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all/debug.js”,”google”:”https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js”,”google-csa”:”https://www.google.com/adsense/search/async-ads.js”,”google-javascript-api”:”https://www.google.com/jsapi”,”google-client-api”:”https://accounts.google.com/gsi/client”,”gpt”:”https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net/tag/js/gpt.js”,”hlsjs”:”https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/hls.js/1.0.7/hls.js”,”recaptcha”:”https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api.js?onload=loadRecaptcha&render=explicit”,”recaptcha_ajax”:”https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api/js/recaptcha_ajax.js”,”supreme-golf”:”https://sgapps-staging.supremegolf.com/search/assets/js/bundle.js”,”taboola”:”https://cdn.taboola.com/libtrc/cbsinteractive-cbssports/loader.js”,”twitter”:”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”,”video-avia”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/fly/js/avia-js/2.48.0/player/avia.min.js”,”video-avia-ui”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/fly/js/avia-js/2.48.0/plugins/ui/avia.ui.min.js”,”video-avia-gam”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/fly/js/avia-js/2.48.0/plugins/gam/avia.gam.min.js”,”video-avia-hls”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/fly/js/avia-js/2.48.0/plugins/hls/avia.hls.min.js”,”video-avia-playlist”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/fly/js/avia-js/2.48.0/plugins/playlist/avia.playlist.min.js”,”video-ima3″:”https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/sdkloader/ima3.js”,”video-ima3-dai”:”https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/sdkloader/ima3_dai.js”,”video-utils”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/util/Utils-min.js”,”video-vast-tracking”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/fly/js/sb55/vast-js/vtg-vast-client.js”}},”waitSeconds”:300});
