Hockey season is back in full force and the Carolina Hurricanes are currently just one of four undefeated teams remaining. Beginning their season at home against the New York Islanders, the Canes (5-0-0) then hit the road for three-straight appearances against the Nashville Predators, Montreal Canadiens and Columbus Blue Jackets before returning home to face the Toronto Maple Leafs. Let’s take a look at a few key takeaways from these first few games of the year:
Andrei Svechnikov
Over the offseason, Canes’ right wing Andrei Svechnikov signed an eight-year, $62 million contract to extend his stay in Raleigh, and many were questioning if this was the right move or if he was paid too much.
Well, just five games into his fourth season, Svechnikov is off to prove he is worth the price, currently leading the team in goals and points. With five goals in five games, including two on opening night, Svechnikov not only leads the Canes but is tied for ninth in the entire NHL and with four assists raising his points total to nine, he just barely edges out teammate Sebastian Aho to lead the Hurricanes, and is tied for sixth league-wide as well.
Svechnikov is a game changer offensively, and if it wasn’t obvious enough already through his first few NHL seasons, is a large portion of what makes this Canes team so special. There’s a long way to go before it can be determined whether or not this contract was worth it, but Svechnikov is already starting to rack up a list of reasons as to why it was.
Power play
Another aspect of the game that was essential for the Canes to work on this season was their power play, which seemed to struggle at the end of last year.
The Canes capitalized on two of five power-play opportunities against the Islanders but struggled against the Predators, being unable to score a goal with four different chances. The matchup against the Blue Jackets was a different story as the Canes took advantage of three of their six opportunities.
Scoring on the only power-play opportunity against the Canadiens, it seemed as if the Canes’ powerplay was getting back on track, but going 0 for 3 in opportunities against the Maple Leafs, it’s clear to see that this still just isn’t as consistent as it should be for Carolina.
Newcomers making impacts
It was another busy offseason for the Hurricanes, as they added a number of new players including a couple of key defensemen in the hope of replacing Dougie Hamilton who signed as a free-agent with the New Jersey Devils.
Ethan Bear has been making himself at home on the Hurricanes defense, averaging 18:55 per game with two assists to start the season. There’s also right wing Jesper Fast who already has three goals during his time in Raleigh including a key goal to open the scoring against Columbus. Also of note is Tony DeAngelo who was the most controversial acquisition, but has already managed to grab four assists in his first five games.
The newcomers can’t be discussed without including Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who signed an offer sheet to come to Raleigh from the Canadiens. He had a slower start to begin his season, but notched a huge goal in his return to Montreal, tipping in a shot from defenseman Brady Skjei to give the Hurricanes back their two-goal lead. He also grabbed another point in the following game against Columbus, assisting center Jordan Staal’s power play goal in the second period.
Will any of these players fill the hole that Hamilton left in this defense? Or were these all the right pieces to add to the Carolina offense? It’s still much too early to tell, but one thing that can be said is that they’re all chipping in and making an impact which is what is so important for the Canes throughout this season.
Goaltending
Goaltending was another concern for the Canes during the offseason but in the short-term it seems as if those decisions have paid off. Fresh from Toronto, Frederik Anderson has been a powerhouse protecting the net these first five games and only seems to be getting better as the season goes on. He let up three goals opening night against the Islanders, but held the Predators to only two the game after and has not let up more than one goal in the past three games, including making some spectacular saves against his former team.
We have yet to get a look at other newcomer Antti Raanta, but if Anderson keeps playing the way he has been of late, the Canes seem to be in a good position with goaltending.
Looking ahead
The Canes have three more games at home before hitting the road again in early November. First, they’ll face their biggest test of this next stretch of games, the 3-1-0 Boston Bruins before hosting the Chicago Blackhawks and Arizona Coyotes who are both still winless on the year. Carolina has clearly had an excellent start to this young season, but every game serves as an important test and these next few can really show just how great this team can be.
