On to the playoffs.
The Carolina Hurricanes and Nashville Predators took care of one final bit of business in the regular season on Monday, and the Predators came away with a 5-0 victory at Bridgestone Arena.
Matt Duchene scored twice and goalie Pekka Rinne, the old pro, had a vintage performance in net for the Predators, making 30 saves in his 60th career shutout and his 369th career win.
Rocco Grimaldi’s shorthanded goal gave Nashville an early lead, and Tanner Jeannot added a second shorthanded score in the first period of the third. Ryan Johansen had a power-play goal in the second period for the Predators.
None of that will matter when the Canes and Predators face off in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The date of Game 1 has yet to be announced by the NHL.
Was Monday’s game some kind of statement game? Hard to say, with Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour holding five regulars out of the lineup. And the Hurricanes made six statements of their own during the season, going 6-2-0 against Nashville, and have won 13 of the last 16 games against the Preds.
The Canes (36-12-8) won the Central Division. The Predators (31-23-2) were fourth. That’s a statement.
One interesting development Monday was an announcement that the Predators have been given approval to have 12,135 fans at their home playoff games. That seating increase, from 40 percent capacity to 70 percent, could be a factor, even with the Canes holding the home-ice advantage in the opening round.
Brind’Amour is hopeful of having a full complement of players. Sitting out Monday’s game were forwards Jordan Staal and Andrei Svechnikov, and defensemen Jaccob Slavin, Dougie Hamilton and Brett Pesce.
Brind’Amour remains hopeful that Slavin, who suffered a lower-body injury Saturday in a 3-1 loss to Nashville, will be ready to play in Game 1 of the playoffs.
With three defensemen out, Joey Keane was recalled Monday from the Chicago Wolves of the AHL and made his NHL debut for the Hurricanes. The defenseman, 21, took the customary solo lap before the pregame warmup, a thrill for the Chicago native.
The Canes were winless in their last three games of the regular season, including the two regulation losses to the Predators. They’ll have a week of practice to hone some aspects of their play, with expected emphasis on special teams.
One of Brind’Amour’s biggest decisions will be deciding on a No. 1 goalie -- Petr Mrazek or Alex Nedeljkovic. Mrazek was the starter Monday and took a 10-1-0 career record against Nashville into the game.
