Carolina Hurricanes: 5 players who need to step up in November

For the Carolina Hurricanes to start putting some real momentum together, five players really need to step up in the upcoming games.

There was not enough production across the board for the Carolina Hurricanes in the opening month. Jeff Skinner led the way with nine points and seven goals. Justin Williams led the team in assists with seven. Yet, Williams only tallied one goal in 10 games.

The November slate starts with the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 2. Carolina is coming off a 4-3 loss in a shootout against the Anaheim Ducks. Corey Perry scored the goal in the shootout, past Scott Darling, to seal it for the Ducks.

November features five road games and seven contests against Eastern Conference competition. The first month of the 2017-18 NHL season featured a heavy amount of Western Conference foes, including a four-game road stretch in the middle of October.

Carolina fell behind the league average in both goals scored and goals against. The offensive production has not been where it needs to be as head coach Bill Peters has not given this team enough of a chance to develop chemistry. Peters keeps shuffling lines on almost a nightly basis before any players can get comfortable with their current pairing.

Cam Ward has been great in relief of Darling whenever called upon. Fans are ready to phase out Ward, but he played a key part in one of the four wins for the Canes so far. Those four wins have come alongside four regulation losses and two in overtime/shootout. Converting on those overtime opportunities is also a big x-factor in the coming months.

Now, let’s take a look at the 5 most important players that need to step up for the Carolina Hurricanes in November.

The top line pairing on defense of Brett Pesce and Jaccob Slavin was the do-everything combination for Peters last season. Yet, while Slavin has gotten off to a good start, Pesce has not been as reliable.

Pesce will not travel with the team to Denver as he is going through concussion protocol after the Ducks game. It could be until the Canes return home to PNC Arena on Nov. 7 to face the Florida Panthers that Pesce will return to the lineup.

A shut down blue line was certainly a possibility for the Canes entering the season. All the young talent on this roster gives hope that can still happen. The 22-year-old Pesce finished October with an even plus/minus and only one assist.

If Slavin is to actually contend for the Norris Trophy this season, he will need his defensive partner to be very solid. Pesce is not as gifted offensively as Slavin, but he still has the ability to rack up 15-20 points this season.

The outright captain for the Canes needs to have a bigger month in November. Production was not where it needed to be for the entire first line for the Canes. Since Staal was named a co-captain by Peters prior to the start of the regular season, more pressure was put on his shoulders.

Staal finished up the month with three goals and three assists through 10 games. He also finished with an even plus/minus, like Pesce. There is so much young talent on this offense that Staal also needs to lead by example.

Part of leading by example includes registering an impressive stat line. Staal has the potential to post 50 points when he plays in a full 82-game season. Six points does put him on pace to finish around his career average, though.

Much of Staal’s production has been the result of the play around him. Moreover, four of his six points came in one matchup against the Edmonton Oilers. The other nine games saw him only post two points. Expect more from Staal in the coming 13 games.

Victor Rask is often the forgotten player among the top six forwards for the Canes. The 24-year-old center is off to an extremely mediocre start this season. He’s racked up four points on two goals and two assists.

There was some potential shown on the second line between Rask, Williams, and Teravainen against the Ducks. That could be something that Peters should stick with moving forward that could also help out Rask.

Last season, Rask finished with 16 goals and 29 assists. It was somewhat of a step back for Rask after posting a career-high in points in 2015-16 with 21 goals and 27 assists. Something has to give this season.

The young core of forward that the Canes have is either going to be the reason they make the playoffs or will be the cause of their downfall. Rask, Aho, Skinner, Teravainen, Elias Lindholm, etc. will have a major impact on the outcome of the November slate.

We’re witnessing the beginning of the Scott Darling era in Raleigh. With Eddie Lack gone and Ward now officially moved into the backup role, this starting job is Darling’s for the taking. That is something he never got the opportunity for in Chicago behind Corey Crawford.

While Darling had some very solid efforts in eight starts in October, he does need to step it up in November. The NHL average in save percentage right now is .909. Darling has a save percentage of .897 so far.

The Canes need a goalie to at least finish with a save percentage above .910 to get a real boost into playoff contention. He does not need to play at the level of Sergei Bobrovsky, Carey Price, Martin Jones, etc., but at least be above average.

Next: Ranking every season in the history of the Carolina Hurricanes

General manager Ron Francis put his trust in Darling, bringing him over from the Blackhawks and signing him to a major contract extension during the off-season. You can see Darling getting more comfortable with the Canes, which hopefully continues in the coming weeks.