If the Carolina Hurricanes’ streak of missing the playoffs were a student in North Carolina public schools, it would be giving book reports on the Town Creek Indian Mound and going on a field trip to the State Capitol this year.
The streak reached nine straight seasons in appropriate fashion on Saturday night at PNC Arena, with the Hurricanes wrapping up an 0-4 season against the New York Rangers with a 2-1 loss at the hands of Henrik Lundqvist and company. It’s now tied for the second-longest streak in NHL history, trailing the ten seasons that the Florida Panthers (2001-2011) and Edmonton Oilers (2007-2016) went without seeing the postseason.