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Despite a bit of a whirlwind start to the year, the Carolina Hurricanes arguably look more dangerous than they ever have during the current era, heading into the final stretch of the regular season.
The Hurricanes have been one of the NHL’s top teams in the calendar year, posting a 28-7-3 record through 38 games since Jan. 1, which ranks as the best in the league over that stretch. Now looking around the rest of the Eastern Conference, and it’s tough to pinpoint any team who’s definitively better on paper than the Hurricanes. Carolina's record stands at 8-1-1 across their last 10 games, most recently coming off back-to-back shutout wins over the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens.
Coming into the year, the Hurricanes’ defense group looked like one of the best in the NHL, and aside from a rocky start, they’ve met expectations. So far this season, the Hurricanes hold the second-lowest expected goals against in the NHL, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
One of the key benefits to the defense group as well is that it can also provide more offense than almost any blue line in the NHL. This season, the Hurricanes’ six regular defensemen plus Tony DeAngelo have combined for 48 goals this season, hovering close to 20 percent of the team’s total goals this year. Contributing to this has been Brady Skjei already reaching the highest point totals of his career, along with Brent Burns has been able to continue contributing at 39 years old. Scott Morrow now signing his entry-level contract as well also provides huge reason for optimism that the Hurricanes' group has more pieces that could provide an impact in the very near future.
Coming into the year though, arguably the two areas where the Hurricanes could have some trouble were with goaltending, along with a lack of high-end offense.
The concerns with goaltending ended up being much more of an issue than ever anticipated, with the Pyotr Kochetkov/Antti Raanta tandem having a brutal stretch for the Hurricanes. However, Kochetkov has since turned things around in a big way, and since Frederik Andersen’s return, the Hurricanes have two goalies they can rely on. Despite the horrible start, Kochetkov has worked his way up to a .911 save percentage, while Andersen has been red-hot, holding a 7-0-0 record and .957 save percentage since returning.
Then after adding Jake Guentzel, as well as Evgeny Kuznetsov at the trade deadline, the Hurricanes’ offense looks possibly more dangerous than it has in recent memory. It can’t be understated just how important the winger has been since joining the team, posting 16 points in his first 11 games with the team. The Guentzel-Aho-Jarvis line as been dominant, with Aho seemingly elevating his game even more this year, and Jarvis taking a massive step, nearing the 30-goal mark.
While the top line looks set to stick together, Evgeny Kuznetsov also gives the Hurricanes more talent at center in the top-six. He’s stuck with Martin Necas, and whether Andrei Svechnikov is with the line as well, or the team looks to spread the scoring between three lines instead, Carolina has more options available to them.
At this point, a fully healthy Hurricanes' forward would include 13 NHL regular forwards, where we’ll end up seeing a forward scratched who probably deserves to be playing, just based on the Hurricanes’ wealth of depth. Jesper Fast is still listed as day-to-day, but it’s going to be interesting to see who’s the odd-man out once he’s healthy. Regardless, it also means Carolina has enough depth that if there was an injury in the bottom-six, the team could seamlessly call upon another player to come back into the lineup.
Special teams also continue to be a huge factor for Carolina this season, with their power play ranking fifth in the NHL since Jan. 1, and their penalty kill being the best in the league from that point. The penalty kill turnaround in particular comes after it was one of the main points of concern to begin the year.
Now coming off a four-day break, the Hurricanes are back in action tonight for a back-to-back set, beginning against the Boston Bruins. It won’t be an easy couple games (also facing the Washington Capitals), but the Hurricanes’ schedule gets a little easier after that, playing four of their remaining five games from there against non-playoff teams. They'll face the Columbus Blue Jackets two more times as part of that stretch, along with the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks.
While a fourth straight division title probably seems out of reach at this point, it also marks the first time the Hurricanes’ lineup has no clear holes or areas of concern heading into the playoffs. Plus, with the favourable schedule, the Hurricanes could always sneak out a division win if the New York Rangers were to stumble.
But post-deadline, Carolina looks maybe more well-built than ever, and if there was a year to finally get over the playoff hump, this seems like the time.
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • 
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