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Carolina Hurricanes: Justin Faulk’s Success is Sustainable

By Brett Finger

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The Carolina Hurricanes have seen Justin Faulk emerge as one of the NHL’s premier defensemen, but is his success sustainable?

In a season of extreme inconsistency from the Carolina Hurricanes, one thing has remained the same – the success and dominance of 23-year-old blue liner Justin Faulk.

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Through 36 games played this season, Faulk has 14 goals and 16 assists for a total of 30 points. He has the most goals of all NHL defensemen this season, and he ranks 4th amongst all defensemen in total points. The American standout also leads the NHL in powerplay goals.

This absolutely unprecedented rise to offensive stardom has taken the league by storm, and he has played a crucial role in keeping the Hurricanes above water, and as of late December, they still have a glimmer of hope in regards to a playoff birth.

It has been all well and good for Faulk so far this season, but is this something he can legitimately keep up through the next 40+ games? The short answer to that question is yes.

Faulk is on pace for 32 goals and 68 total points this season, assuming he plays all 82 contests. If he keeps this pace up, he would more than double his career-high in goals, and he’d set career-numbers in assists and points as well. He has already set a career high in powerplay goals with 12. His previous high was 7 just a year ago.

All those numbers are beyond absurd most defensemen in the NHL, but it really isn’t for Justin Faulk.

Over the past season and a half, this young player has done more than enough to prove that he isn’t your average defenseman, he is much more than that. He has emerged as maybe the most underrated defenseman in the league next to Arizona’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

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We’ve established that Faulk is in an elite group of defenseman with his offensive surge, and you can expect that surge to continue due to the state of this team.

So far this season, Justin Faulk has been the only player that has consistently brought offensive pressure every game.

Back in November, a month in which the Hurricanes scored a lowly 27 goals in 13 games (2.07 goals per game), Faulk was still picking up points at an incredible rate. He had 11 points in those 13, registering a point on 41% of Carolina’s goals. He was able to facilitate offense despite the team’s struggles as whole, which is a big indicator of what could come in the next few months.

Faulk played extremely well when the team struggled, but he has also continued to be a key factor in the team’s success.

In the month of December, the Hurricanes have bounced back and have posted a record of 7-4-1 in 12 games. Justin Faulk has 6 goals, 6 assists, and 12 points in 12 games, chipping in points on 34% of Carolina’s goals.

So far this season, Faulk has proven a few things. He can carry the team’s offense when no one else can, he can continue to carry the team’s offense when everyone else is contributing, and he has proven that he can stay consistent and keep up his numbers no matter what his opponents throw at him.

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Up to this point, Justin Faulk has proven to be the rock of the Carolina Hurricanes, and given what he has done so far, there’s no reason to think that this kind of production will stop anytime soon, maybe not for another decade.

We haven’t seen a defenseman as young and as talented as Faulk don the red and white for the Canes, but this guy is special, and he will continue to show that for a very long time.

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