The Carolina Hurricanes are in trouble and there's not anything they can do to fix it, and the latest embarrassment for Team Canada on the international stage as they fizzle out at the hands of noted world hockey superpower... uh, Denmark? What the hell, man?

LAST NIGHT'S ACTION

FLORIDA PANTHERS 5 CAROLINA HURRICANES 0 (Panthers lead series 2-0)

The Carolina Hurricanes are being exposed once again. A fantastic regular season team that simply cannot handle playoff hockey. How bad is this team once they get to the final four? (Apologies for the nazi site link)

That might end up being the craziest stat of the playoffs. 14 straight Conference Finals losses for this team, and it is worth remembering that last year, when they got swept by the Panthers, head coach Rod Brind'Amour famously said they didn't get swept because it didn't feel like it. So we're just going on vibes now? I'd make a joke about the Canucks actually being a playoff team because it didn't feel like they weren't, but we all know that's a lie. This series now shifts to Florida, and unless the Canes completely change their style of play, they're going to be done on Monday.

DENMARK 2 CANADA 1 (Denmark advances to semi finals)

Embarrassing. I did say in yesterday's preview that something would have to go horribly wrong for Canada to lose this game. I mean, full credit to the Danish team who, in front of a raucous home crowd refused to quit against a Canadian team that is simply better. So how does this happen? The Canadians obviously were looking ahead, and never seemed to bend the game to their will. Nathan MacKinnon, he of lore that he is built for such occasions, was so inconspicuous in this game you might think he didn't play. And Jordan Binnington did to Canada what he did to St Louis: when they needed him the most, he failed. The Four Nations Cup is over, Jordan. We're back to realizing you're an overrated bum. I know that it's hard to get too mad about the Worlds, as they have to choose from a limited pool because of what time of year it is. But with MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby among others, and the noted absence of Connor Bedard, this should have been a year that Canada made the finals. Instead, they flop out losing it in the dying moments to a team that had no business even being close on paper, yet they probably played the greatest game their national team has ever put up. To say that this has been a rough year for Canada internationally is an understatement. Just the Under 18s and the Four Nations to this year. Along with legal drama, it's just another sign that a massive house cleaning at Hockey Canada would do a world of good.

TODAY'S ACTION

EDMONTON OILERS (0-1) vs DALLAS STARS (1-0)

AMERICAN AIRLINES ARENA, DALLAS, TX

5:00 PM PST/ 8:00 PM EST

TV: SPORTSNET, CBC

Things were looking pretty good for the Oilers in Game One, and then they weren't. A five goal outburst in the third period as the Oilers got into penalty trouble saw it all fall apart, and they're now down a game in this series. I'm sure that they're just going to write it off and not overreact though, right?

And as one of the penalty killers, he's right to... wait, I am being told he actually doesn't kill penalties for the Oilers. Huh. Shocking that the never at all overly emotional Draisaitl would throw teammates under the bus. I am sure some would have suggested McDavid might have been the one to do this, but that would require him to show emotion off the ice.

OILERS (3P) at STARS (2C)

Western Conference Final, Game 2

8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC

Dallas leads best-of-7 series 1-0

Oilers projected lineup

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Connor McDavid -- Zach Hyman

Vasily Podkolzin -- Leon Draisaitl -- Kasperi Kapanen

Evander Kane -- Adam Henrique -- Connor Brown

Trent Frederic -- Mattias Janmark -- Corey Perry

Brett Kulak -- Evan Bouchard

Darnell Nurse -- Troy Stecher

Jake Walman -- John Klingberg

Stuart Skinner

Olivier Rodrigue

Scratched: Viktor Arvidsson, Joshua Brown, Cam Dineen, Ty Emberson, Max Jones, Derek Ryan, Jeff Skinner

Injured: Mattias Ekholm (undisclosed), Calvin Pickard (lower body)

Stars projected lineup

Mikael Granlund -- Roope Hintz -- Mikko Rantanen

Jason Robertson -- Matt Duchene -- Wyatt Johnston

Mason Marchment -- Sam Steel -- Tyler Seguin

Jamie Benn -- Oskar Back -- Evgenii Dadonov

Thomas Harley -- Miro Heiskanen

Esa Lindell -- Cody Ceci

Lian Bichsel -- Alexander Petrovic

Jake Oettinger

Casey DeSmith

Scratched: Mavrik Bourque, Colin Blackwell, Mathew Dumba, Ilya Lyubushkin, Brendan Smith

Injured: Nils Lundkvist (shoulder)

Looks like no changes for either team. I'm not one to feel anything but derision for the Oilers, but I do feel bad for Jeff Skinner. All those years waiting to finally be in the playoffs, and he's in the press box again. That's gotta be demoralizing.

ABBOTSFORD CANUCKS (2-1) vs COLORADO EAGLES (1-2)

BLUE ARENA, LOVELAND, CO

6:05 PDT/ 9:05 EDT

RADIO: SPORTSNET 650 TV: FLOHOCKEY.TV

The Abbotsford Canucks can punch their ticket to a first ever appearance in the Western Conference Finals of the AHL Calder Cup Playoffs with a win tonight in Colorado. The Canucks took a 2-1 series lead on Wednesday night when Linus Karlsson's OT winner gave them a 3-2 win in Loveland over the Eagles. If a fifth and deciding game is needed, it will be played at 2:05 pm PDT on Monday, and the game will be available on Flo Hockey and Sportsnet 650.

GAME DAY BATTLE HYMN

Another new track from FUGITIVE today, and these guys are slowly becoming an absolute force in the thrash scene. Check out 'Spheres Of Virulence', and crank it up!