Carolina and Colorado have yet to lose in these NHL playoffs, making history with their hot starts

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Carolina and Colorado have been well-built for a championship run for a few years now.

The Hurricanes and the Avalanche have put on a clinic for how to start the race.

The top two teams in the NHL during the regular season, seemingly on a collision course to meet in the Stanley Cup Final, have been performing on the ice with a force to match their natural-disaster-themed nicknames. Neither the Canes nor the Avs have lost a game in these playoffs.

With a 4-1 win at Philadelphia on Thursday to take a 3-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series, the Hurricanes became the 13th team in NHL history to start a postseason with seven straight wins. Eight of the first 12 won the Stanley Cup.

The Hurricanes will send sizzling goalie Frederik Andersen out for Game 4 on Saturday to try to finish off the Flyers, seeking a sweep that would give them the league's first 8-0 start in the playoffs since 1985.

“I would anticipate we’re going to give it our best, because we’re going to need to,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We’re not going to win if we don’t put our best foot forward.”

Only three teams in NHL history have overcome a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series, but plenty of teams have managed to at least force a fifth game.

“The fourth one is the hardest one to win. No one wants to go home,” Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal said. “It's going to be a brand-new challenge.”

Only two teams have started the playoffs 7-0 in the last three decades. Colorado, which has already scored 14 goals on Minnesota in their Western Conference semifinal series, would make it two in the same year by winning Game 3 on Saturday night. The NHL gave the Avalanche and Wild three days between games to sync up the schedules of the four ongoing series.

“For our team, the energy and pace that we want to play with on a nightly basis that helps us have success, it doesn’t hurt,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “It doesn’t hurt to be rested and recovered and still get a little practice time in to go out and feel good about your puck touches and your systems and everything. Meetings don’t have to get crammed in. You can take your time and get feedback from the guys."

The Hurricanes, who have made the playoffs in each of eight seasons under Brind’Amour, lost to eventual champion Florida in the Eastern Conference finals last year. They would tie for the 10th-longest winning streak in a single NHL postseason by beating the Flyers on Saturday. Twenty-three teams in league history have won eight or more consecutive playoff games in the same year, and 18 of them won the Stanley Cup.

One of the five that came up short was the 1992 Chicago Blackhawks, who matched the all-time record with 11 straight playoff wins. The Pittsburgh Penguins also staked claim to the record that spring, finishing with a four-game sweep in the Stanley Cup Final.

The Avalanche are aiming to emulate the way the Canes powered through the Philadelphia crowd noise to win a feisty Game 3. Minnesota has not hosted a game this late in the postseason since 2015.

“It will be a rockin’ environment,” Avs goalie Scott Wedgewood said. “That’s what makes playoff so fun, right?”

When/Where to Watch: Game 4, Saturday, 6 p.m. EDT (TNT, truTV, HBO Max).

Series: Hurricanes lead 3-0.

The Flyers have been unable to solve Carolina's stifling defense, with just three goals in three games. Their league-worst power play during the regular season has carried over, with just one goal in 12 opportunities in this series and a 3-for-29 showing in nine playoff games.

When/Where to Watch: Game 4, Saturday, 9 p.m. EDT (TNT, truTV, HBO Max).

Series: Avalanche lead 2-0.

The Wild have spent the extra time off trying to shore up their penalty kill, which has been dearly missing center Joel Eriksson Ek and defenseman Jonas Brodin. But after dominating Dallas at even strength in the first round they've also struggled to contain Colorado's high-octane forwards in 5-on-5 situations. Minnesota might go back to rookie goalie Jesper Wallstedt after giving Filip Gustavsson the net for a 5-2 loss in Game 2.

AP Sports Writers Dan Gelston in Philadelphia and Pat Graham in Denver contributed to this report.

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Minnesota Wild right wing Ryan Hartman, left, gets tangled up with Colorado Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews while pursuing the puck in the third period of Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, front, and left wing Artturi Lehkonen react after center Martin Necas scored a goal against the Minnesota Wild in the first period of Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Philadelphia Flyers' Alex Bump, left, collides with Carolina Hurricanes' Frederik Andersen during the second period of Game 3 in the second round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs, Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Carolina Hurricanes' Nikolaj Ehlers, from left, Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook celebrate after a goal by Ehlers during the third period of Game 3 in the second round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs against the Philadelphia Flyers Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Spike Lee was in the house and, yes, that was actor Timothée Chalamet sitting courtside rooting on the New York Knicks.

Ben Stiller attracted a crowd at halftime.

No this wasn't Celebrity Row at Madison Square Garden.

The Hollywood A-listers — and yes, just your average Knicks fans — crashed Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Friday night to watch New York play the 76ers.

Oh, it wasn't all orange and blue and well-heeled celebrities in Philadelphia.

The Sixers still boasted the bulk of the fans — though there was a sizable contingent of Knicks supporters — and the spirited crowd included fans who received tickets donated by the franchise to community groups in the Sixers' latest attempt to keep more of their own fans in the building and avoid a New York takeover.

Lee gleefully reminisced about the time he saw the Knicks win their first NBA championship on May 8, 1970 — exactly 56 years earlier.

Most of the Knicks fans were just happy to get a chance to travel roughly 90 miles south of MSG to Xfinity Mobile Arena — no matter how hard the Sixers tried to shoo them away.

The Sixers had already tried to ward off Knicks fans in this playoff series through Ticketmaster by geographically restricting sales to fans in the greater Philadelphia area.

Knicks fan Lenny Rakhmanov of Brooklyn had a workaround to the geo-fencing barrier.

He phoned a friend.

“I bought my tickets off Ticketmaster,” he said. “I did have trouble. I have a friend in Philly and he got the tickets for me and sent them to me through Ticketmaster. They told me while I was trying to make the purchase from my office in New York, you had to be a Philly resident to purchase the tickets.”

Rakhmanov said he spent $800 per ticket for three seats in Section 123, and brought his 11- and 8-year-old sons.

“I can't even believe that they're trying to keep fans out,” he said. “It's part of sports. If their team was on the road, and they were up in the series, and they wanted their fans in the building, why would they want to stop that?”

The Sixers said 250 frontline medical personnel from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Penn Medicine and 250 local educators selected by Learn Fresh, Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia, the Philadelphia school district and Camden, New Jersey, school district would attend Game 3 on Friday night.

The 76ers plan to host 500 mothers and children selected by Uplift Center for Grieving Children, Boys and Girls Club of Philadelphia, La Liga del Barrio and Apologues for Sunday's Game 4.

The Knicks led the best-of-seven series 2-0 entering Friday.

When the teams met two years ago in the first round, Knicks fans swarmed Philadelphia, and Sixers All-Star center Joel Embiid pleaded with fans ahead of this series not to let it happen again.

“Last time we played the Knicks it felt like this was Madison Square Garden East. So we’re going to need the support,” Embiid said. “Don’t sell your tickets. This is bigger than you. We need you guys. The atmosphere we’ve had the last couple games in Philly, especially the last one pushing it to Game 7, I mean, we need all of it.”

Embiid was booed when he went to the free-throw line in the first half, and Knicks fans roared when he missed the shot.

Moments later, Jalen Brunson went to the free-throw line and “MVP!” chants were quickly muffled by Sixers fans who booed the former Villanova standout.

It was that kind of night.

On the resale market, SeatGeek said buyers from New York and Pennsylvania were nearly even, with 27% of tickets sold to New York billing addresses and 26% to Pennsylvania buyers. Another 21% were from New Jersey, suggesting that Knicks fans were slightly more motivated to get to the game.

For Sunday’s Game 4, the New York share ticks up a bit further: 33% for New York vs. 17% for Pennsylvania.

Former Sixers standout Marc Jackson visited Camden’s Pride Elementary School ahead of the game and surprised teachers with Game 3 tickets.

That seemed like a big win, no matter which team fans rooted for in Philly.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Timothée Chalamet watches during the first half of Game 3 in a second-round NBA basketball playoff series between the Philadelphia 76ers and the New York Knicks Friday, May 8, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Spike Lee watches before Game 3 in a second-round NBA basketball playoff series between the Philadelphia 76ers and the New York Knicks Friday, May 8, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

A New York Knicks' fan walks through the seats during warm-ups before Game 3 in a second-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers Friday, May 8, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

A New York Knicks' fan watches warm-ups before Game 3 in a second-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers Friday, May 8, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

New York Knicks' fans watch warm-ups before Game 3 in a second-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers Friday, May 8, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

A Philadelphia 76ers' fan reacts during final minute of Game 3 against the Boston Celtics in a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series Friday, April 24, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)