Hurricanes forward Elias Lindholm puts a shot on Sharks goalie Aaron Dell during the 1-0 win on Nov. 15. Lindholm had 19 minutes of ice time and one shot on goal. " />
Sorena Dadgar
Hurricanes forward Elias Lindholm puts a shot on Sharks goalie Aaron Dell during the 1-0 win on Nov. 15. Lindholm had 19 minutes of ice time and one shot on goal.
Roughly two months into the season for the Carolina Hurricanes, the biggest question facing the team — can it make the playoffs? — still has no clear answer. So far, it looks like the team will be right around where many expected it to be, on the playoff bubble, but it will come down to whether it will be above or below it.
It has been an up and down season thus far for the Canes. The first month of the season was one to forget, as the team went 2-4-2 including a brutal six-game opening road trip that saw the team blow three-goal leads in its first two games.
The Hurricanes were able to score goals aplenty in the opening month, mostly thanks to the team’s two leading scorers in forwards Jeff Skinner and Victor Rask. However, the strong defensive play that was the team’s hallmark the previous season deserted it, as breakdowns and turnovers led to the team giving up too many goals, and it could not outscore its problems to win games. Poor goaltending that had plagued the team the previous season continued to linger as well, and all in all it added up to a familiar scenario for the Canes, a slow start to the season.
Things have turned around considerably in November, however. Following a tough home loss to the New Jersey Devils Nov. 6, the Canes have gone 6-3-1, winning six of their last eight and five-straight home games.
This hot streak has been a result of the team turning around its issues from the first month. The defensive play has improved significantly, leading to fewer grade-A scoring chances against.
The man behind the defenseman has enjoyed a significant turnaround as well; starting goalie Cam Ward has played some of his best hockey in a long time in the month of November. The veteran netminder has gone 6-3-2 with a .941 save percentage and 1.62 goals against average.
The team has also been able to find secondary scoring from players other than Skinner and Rask, so that the offense does not dry up on nights when those two can’t find the back of the net. Forwards such as Jordan Staal, Teuvo Teravainen, Sebastian Aho, Elias Lindholm and Derek Ryan have all been able to help the team find goals from other sources outside of its top line. Having multiple scoring lines is a key in today’s NHL, so continued depth scoring would be very beneficial for the Canes.
Perhaps the biggest catalyst for the Canes’ November surge has been their play when down a man. Carolina has the best penalty kill in the NHL at 91.1 percent, as the team has consistently been able to hold opposing man advantages off the scoreboard, which is a good formula for winning games.
All of this added up has led to a November turnaround for the Canes, and the team has given itself a chance to contend for a playoff spot. The road will not be easy, however. The team will play six of its next seven away from Raleigh before returning home for four straight at PNC in mid-December.
If the Canes can survive this road-heavy stretch though, and grab enough points to stay afloat, they should be in decent shape. With all of these road games over the first two and a half months of the schedule, the remainder of the slate for the 2016-17 season will be rather home heavy.
The Canes have shown a very repeatable formula for winning at home lately, with being able to pick matchups using last change to shut down opposing top players and get their own on the board.
The Carolina Hurricanes have shown throughout the season so far that they are a playoff bubble team. Following a tough start, a November surge has brought the team into the hunt for a playoff spot. If the Canes can continue to get strong goaltending, a rock-solid penalty kill, spread out depth scoring and take advantage of the home-heavy remainder of their schedule, a playoff berth could be in the cards for the first time since 2009.