Carolina Hurricanes: Most Difficult Road Trips of the 2015-2016 Season
By Brett Finger
Mar 2, 2014; Anaheim, CA, USA; Carolina Hurricanes center Staal (12) moves the puck defended by Anaheim Ducks defenseman Fowler (4) and Anaheim Ducks defenseman Lovejoy (6) during the second period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
#3: Pre-Christmas Road Trip
WHEN: December 8 – December 15 (8th, 11th, 12th, and 15th)
WHO: Dallas Stars, Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, and Philadelphia Flyers
Before the Carolina Hurricanes come home for the holiday, they will have to travel across the country and back for a four-game road trip.
This week-long trip will start in the Lone Star State against the Dallas Stars.
The Stars have a downright lethal offense on paper. The club went out and added Patrick Sharp over the summer, and he looks to fit in perfectly with Jamie Benn (the league’s leading scorer last season), Tyler Seguin, Jason Spezza, Valeri Nichushkin, and others.
The club also added veteran defenseman Johnny Oduya, which will add experience and reliability to the blue line in Dallas. Sharp and Oduya both won the Stanley Cup in Chicago in June.
The Stars and Hurricane split their two games a season ago. Both teams scored 9 goals and won on the other team’s home ice.
A few days later, the Hurricanes will hit the coast and take on the Anaheim Ducks.
The Ducks did a couple notable things this offseason. They inked Ryan Kessler to a big-time contract extension, and they went out and traded for Carl Hagelin from the Rangers, whom they extended just a day ago.
Anaheim had a monster season in 2015-2016, but they fell one round short of the Stanley Cup Finals. They will be hungry for a Championship this season, and they will play the Hurricanes very tough because every game will be important for them.
The Hurricanes got swept by the Ducks a year ago, losing one game in regulation and one game in overtime; however, both games were tight, one goal games. The Canes got outshot by an average of 10 shots in both games.
In the third game of the trip, the Hurricanes will head to the desert and take on the Arizona Coyotes.
Arizona appears to be a bottom-dweller team and a contender for the first-overall pick next June, but they do bolster some decent players.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson is a top-15 defenseman in my opinion, if not higher. He flies incredibly under the radar and will be a threat for a 40 or 50-point year from the blue line this season. He is a threat every time he hits the ice.
Other than that, Arizona will likely welcome in young talent like Max Domi, Anthony Duclair, and maybe even Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini up front. They will accompany veterans Shane Doan and Antoine Vermette, among others.
The Carolina Hurricanes won both games against the bottom-three finishing Arizona Coyotes last season and outscored them 5-1. The Canes averaged nearly 40 shots per game against the Yotes in 2014-2015.
The Canes will come back east to finish the trip and take on their Metropolitan Division rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers.
Philly locked up Jakub Voracek to a monster 8-year extension this summer, and he will undoubtedly form a fantastic first line with Claude Giroux at center.
The Flyers can be dangerous, but they likely won’t push for the playoffs this season. In terms of projected finish in the Eastern Conference, they are pretty even with the Hurricanes, if not a bit better.
Philadelphia’s offense certainly has some great players, but their defense is weak. They seem to have a lot of number 4/5 defensemen and no one that really stands out as a solid top-two option.
In net, Steve Mason will hold things down for the orange and black. He is a very underrated goalie, and he will have to carry this team to a playoff birth this season if they want to have a chance.
The Hurricanes beat up on the Flyers last season, posting a 4-1-0 record. They struck often on the power play as well, scoring on over 20% of their man advantage opportunities.
Next: Important Games in March