RALEIGH, N.C. — The weather had that feel, warm and full of anticipation. It was playoff hockey weather in November, and the parking lots outside PNC Arena reflected that Sunday afternoon.
Throw in the weird start time — 5 p.m. on the day the clocks fall back — and the ESPN telecast and a high-powered opponent and a standing-room only crowd, and the temperature wasn’t the only playoff vibe in the building.
Sunday’s 3-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs just had that kind of feel, a battle of matchups and firepower constrained in limited space, and — too much like last spring — a failure to convert early scoring chances that would come back to haunt the Hurricanes.
