9. Scott Darling is having a hard time settling into the starting role
Acquiring Scott Darling was a big move from general manager Ron Francis over the off-season. Yet, Darling’s start to his time in Raleigh was very inconsistent, to say the least. He currently owns a .900 save percentage and gave up six in his last start.
Darling gave up one of the worst goals in recent memory in that loss where he gave up six to the Rangers. On what was supposed to be a dump in from Mika Zibanejad, the puck fluttered by Darling’s glove into the net.
A few other struggles that Darling is having includes closing the five hole and controlling rebounds. You cannot blame the entirety of the loss to the Rangers on Darling, or even the 6-4 loss to the Islanders last week. But, he needs to play better.
For Darling to secure the starting job, he’ll have to start proving himself on a nightly basis and not be so streaky. He’s starting to look like Eddie Lack did during his time with the Canes and that’s not what he was brought in for.