In the final article posted before the start of the season, I posed a question: Could this be the Carolina Hurricanes’ year?
After five straight playoff appearances, all ending in the same fate (even if at different stages of the postseason), the Hurricanes once again improved their roster in the offseason, entering the season as a contender in the East once again. But now with the Hurricanes finally back in the spot where it really matters and set for a first round rematch against the New York Islanders, it remains to be seen as to whether or not this year will be different.
In that article (linked below), I listed two things that could possibly lead to the Hurricanes’ downfall, being a lack of finishing ability, and inconsistent goaltending.
But now 82 games later, it would be difficult to still view either area as a concern at all.
The addition of Jake Guentzel has been a gamechanger for the Hurricanes, giving them another legitimate top option on the wing. With Guentzel-Aho-Jarvis solidified, the team has been able to play around with other line combinations, opting to spread some of their scoring amongst other lines.
Last year, the Hurricanes were without Andrei Svechnikov and Max Pacioretty, as well as Teuvo Teravainen for a chunk of the playoffs, and it showed in the results. The team’s offense was thin at best, and upon running up against a hot goalie in Sergei Bobrovsky, Carolina didn’t have the firepower. This time around, the Hurricanes have strong enough depth where even if one line isn’t going, they can get scoring from pretty much anywhere in the lineup.
Guentzel and Aho both ended the year having scored at a pace of over 90 points per 82 this season, with both Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis up around 70 points per 82, and Martin Necas and Teuvo Teravainen above 55 points per 82. That's not to mention still having some of the best bottom-six depth in the NHL.
Then in goal, while the Hurricanes didn’t necessarily make any changes, they’ve gotten some of the best goaltending in the NHL over the last couple months. Frederik Andersen has been elite in his 10 games since returning (posting a .951 save percentage in that time), while Pyotr Kochetkov has completely turned things around after his slow start, and was one of the key reasons the team was able to start climbing the standings like they did once the calendar flipped to 2024.
With Andersen at the top of his game and Kochetkov taking a step this season, the Hurricanes’ goaltending situation looks strong. We can also still expect there’s a good shot Rod Brind’Amour does use both goalies at certain points in the postseason. Of course, playoffs is a different beast, but the reality is that even if the Hurricanes did look to bring in help, it would’ve been incredibly difficult for someone else to provide better goaltending than what Andersen/Kochetkov have given the Hurricanes post-trade deadline.
Right now, you can’t really point to a single significant flaw with the Hurricanes. They still lack a true second-line center it seems, but have some of the best wing depth in the NHL to compensate. Their defense group remains top-notch, and their special teams are elite. More on this in my preview of their first round rematch against the New York Islanders from yesterday below:
But the point to this is that even aside from the Hurricanes’ current 15-4-1 run over their last 20 games to end the year, this is a team that looks poised for a very deep playoff run. I’d struggle to find a team in the East, or NHL at all, that you can definitively say is better on paper than Carolina.
Obviously though, this is where it matters. Regular season success is great, but that hasn't been Carolina's issue. The last five years have seen two Conference Final appearances that ended in sweeps, two second round exits, and one first round exit. But while some may just view this as a sixth run for the Hurricanes under Brind’Amour, though the playoff results haven’t come quite yet so far, there’s reason to believe this time will be different.
The Hurricanes addressed their scoring weaknesses, and with their goaltending sorting itself out, along with an almost fully healthy lineup heading into the postseason and special teams clicking, the team is left looking possibly stronger than ever in the current era – and there's reason to believe this could be the Hurricanes’ year.
Carolina opens the postseason today at 5 p.m. for Game 1 against the Islanders.
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»