Carolina Hurricanes: 5 takeaways from win over Stars

With the win over the Dallas Stars on Nov. 13, the Carolina Hurricanes have now picked up eight points in the last five games.

A big win for the Carolina Hurricanes came on Nov. 13 against the Dallas Stars in the third game in four days. Previous to defeating the Stars, the Canes had lost to the Chicago Blackhawks on Nov. 11 and defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets on Nov. 10. The other win that gives Carolina three wins in four games came over the Florida Panthers at home on Nov. 7.

If the Canes want to get out of the basement in the Metropolitan Division sometime soon, they need to keep doing what they’re doing right now. The Canes came out of this four game stretch with seven points and now have a 7-5-4 record. Carolina is actually now tied with the Philadelphia Flyers for last place in the Metro.

The Canes do have some catch-up to do to pick up some ground on the New Jersey Devils, Washington Capitals, and Blue Jackets at the top. Baby steps are important right now, though. Defeating a team like the Stars that is firmly in the playoff picture in the Western Conference early in the season is a big step forward.

Head coach Bill Peters will take a four goal win any day of the week, and it will help his squad before they hit the road to face the New York Islanders on Nov. 16. Especially responding from losing a 3-1 lead over the Hawks in the third period with scoring four straight over the Stars to win is very encouraging.

Not only did the Canes take some big steps as a team, the first line did as well.

Here’s 5 takeaways from the Carolina Hurricanes’ victory over the Dallas Stars on Nov. 13.

5. Sebastian Aho is off and running

If the Canes can get some momentum going now, it starts with players like Sebastian Aho and Jeff Skinner leading the offense. Seeing the Carolina offense show out the way it did should mean great things for this team.

Aho got his first goal of the season after going 15 games without one. Coming off a 24 goal rookie season, it was a disappointing way to kick off his sophomore campaign. Aho also compiled two assists, giving him 11 points on the season.

This should finally get the monkey off Aho’s back and get him going in the right direction. He started the scoring off in the first period with a nice backhand goal on a great pass from line mate Jordan Staal.

November is the month that Aho really took off last season. This could be the thing that the offense was lacking for the Canes. Peters puts more trust in Aho than almost any other player on the roster.

4. Scott Darling is ready to go

With so many good things happening for the Canes against the Stars, the play of Scott Darling seemed to get covered up. Darling stopped 25 of 26 shots on goal while Ben Bishop of the Stars only stopped 23 of 28 shots.

The Chicago game did not finish well for Darling, giving up three straight goals in the loss. Peters could have easily gone with Cam Ward in this one after how good he was in the win over the weekend against the Jackets.

However, Darling is the set in stone starter for the Canes and getting his confidence up is exactly what happened here. He did not show the five hole or rebound control issues that have been difficult at times for him to deal with.

It should only be a matter of time before Darling gets his first shutout of the season. Aho getting his first goal seems like just as big of a marker as Darling getting his first shutout in a Canes jersey.

3. Teuvo Teravainen is taking another step forward

The biggest performance of the night came from Teuvo Teravainen with three goals and one assist. It was not only the first hat trick of the season for the Canes, but the first of Teravainen’s young career.

With his four points, Teravainen is now tied with Jordan Staal and Justin Williams for the team lead in points with 13. Teravainen has six goals and seven assists total on the season. He’s improved every season that he’s been in the NHL.

The Canes need another talented player to step up and lead the offense aside from Skinner and Aho. Getting more out of a young player like Teravainen is huge for a team that is thriving off of potent talents.

Possibly the best part of Teravainen’s hat trick was the fact that he scored all three goals in less than seven minutes. His release and offensive prowess are the main reasons he is on the first line and sparked the outburst of goals in this game.

2. The first line is the biggest x-factor

When the first line has played well this season, you’ve seen victories like the one over the Stars and the 5-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers earlier this year. However, the production has not been there consistently.

Staal, Aho, and Teravainen combined for 11 points in one game and have the potential to repeat this type of performance in the upcoming weeks. However, Staal has a history of issues with inconsistencies since he entered the league with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2007.

Staal is one of the co-captains and is possibly an even bigger piece than Justin Faulk, the other captain. The lack of offense can be directly contributed to the random spurts of points that have contributed to Staal’s total stat line this season.

If Aho does actually get going after this performance, then this entire line could come alive very quickly. Teravainen and Aho do have a more natural scoring touch, but Staal has the size and vision to rack up just as many points.