Carolina Hurricanes: Every takeaway before Christmas

The Positives

Before inevitably going off on a rant about something I do not like, let’s take a look at things that are going well. Well firstly, depending on how you want to count it, the Canes are above .500. I mean, some people count OT losses and some don’t. Either way, a 16-12-7 record is by no means terrible; and not terrible is something I will accept.

Here’s a fun fact. The Canes are ahead of the Stanley Cup Champions of last year, in the standings. I did not see that coming. The problem is, we are still stuck in a tough division, and will likely be in a tight playoff race with the Rangers, Islanders, Penguins and Flyers for the remainder of the season. Anyways, more on that later.

A few players have gone above and beyond my expectations this year. For example, Teuvo Teravainen has developed into a terrific playmaker. With 25 points (8 goals, 17 assists) in 34 games, Teuvo looks fantastic. I think the Blackhawks really under-estimated Teravainen’s potential. Let me tell you, they could use some fresh, young talent right now. Ron Francis made an excellent move in signing him and I hope he’s here to stay.

Jordan Staal is an interesting case. Jordan had the opportunity to play alongside his brother, Eric for a few years, until the ladder was traded. Since then, Jordan has cemented himself as his own person. You can imagine how challenging it can be to play in the shadow of a sibling; one who had a 100 point rookie season, in particular. Having become the captain of the Hurricanes however, Jordan has impressed me.

He got off to a great start, but has slowed down a bit, as of late. Jordan is on pace for 49 points, which isn’t great. However, he has shown himself to be a capable leadership figure, and 49 points is still nothing to sneeze at.

Next let’s take a look at Noah Hanifin. I recently made an article about how spectacular he is, so I’ll try to keep this brief. 

Positive Points Continued

With impressive play on either end of the ice, Hanifin has proved that he should be considered as one of the best defensemen in the league. He will completely shut down an offensive rush, and then will immediately make a great play on the other end of the ice.

It has been a thing of beauty to watch Hanifin fix up the holes in his game, and develop into the spectacular defender he already is. Hanifin is undoubtedly the best player on the team.

Other players who have can be considered positives so far, include Jeff Skinner, Brock McGinn, Trevor van Riemsdyk Justin Williams(ish) and Phillip Di Gieuseppe.

Lastly, the Hurricanes have played an effective brand of hockey. If you want the best reason to be confident in the Canes, listen to this: The Hurricanes have the best possession numbers in the NHL.

With a corsi percentage of 54, the Hurricanes lead the NHL. When a team is #1 in corsi, but not in a playoff spot, it suggests that they are extremely unlucky. Additionally, the Hurricanes are third worst in the league, in PDO.

This statistic determines how lucky or unlucky your team is. By adding up your team’s even strength shooting percentage and save percentage, you will get the PDO. Over a season, this will generally trend around 100. The Hurricanes have a PDO of 97.5. This is likely unsustainable, and the NHL’s natural parity is soon to set in. Statistically, we can expect a rebound of some sort, and the Hurricanes should have a higher PDO (and thus a better record) for the next half of the season.

The Negatives

Alright, we can’t get too positive here. Positivity is an evil force, remember. It’s time to look at the things that aren’t going so well.

Many fans were questioning the logic of naming Justin Faulk and Jordan Staal co-captains at the beginning of the year. I agree, this was a rather strange decision. The Canes are the only team in the NHL with multiple captains which makes it increasingly confusing. What did management see in Staal and Faulk to justify this sort of decision?

The thing is, Staal has met expectations this year. He has established himself as a good leader, as well as an effective point scorer. However, Faulk has been one of our more disappointing players. Instead of establishing himself as an important key to the Hurricanes’ defensive core, he has been a liability on both sides of the ice.

Before scoring two goals in his previous game, Faulk had only 8 points in 34 games. This has led many, including myself, to question his captaincy. It’s fine to be a good leader, but there’s a line you need to draw. If someone with the C on his jersey is this ineffective, some questions obviously need to be asked.

Jaccob Slavin has also been a bit of a disappointment this season. Alright, hear me out here. Yes, I get it, he’s not necessarily an offensive defenseman, so shaming him for scoring only 9 points in 35 games isn’t fair.

But his advanced stats are, frankly, unimpressive. He has improved from the last time I referenced him, but he still has the seventh worst fenwick on the Canes. His relative corsi and fenwick are both below zero, which means the team does better, overall, when he’s off the ice.

So, when people make it sound as if Slavin is on the same level as Hanifin, I wince. I have no doubt that Jaccob can develop into a top-two defenseman. He has exposed glimpses of brilliance, and has a lot of potential. Unfortunately, he hasn’t maintained this play, and there is still a lot of room for him to improve.

Alright, we’re here. Time to look at the dreaded goaltending situation. When the Hurricanes signed Darling, I thought it was great. The circumstances were perfect. The Blackhawks had a great goaltender in Cory Crawford, and a great backup in Scott Darling. The Hurricanes no longer had a legitimate starting goalie, and Darling was the perfect answer to this conundrum.

Unfortunately, reality just had to rear its ugly head.

Negatives Continued

Now that I think about it, how many times has signing a life-long backup goalie as a starter really worked out for anyone? I honestly can’t think of any examples off the top of my head. And alas, Darling has failed to stop the trend.

With an .896 save percentage through 24 games, Darling has disappointed. He isn’t looking like an NHL-caliber goaltender. Add 2 abysmal goals against the Rangers and an 8-1 loss to the Leafs, and we’ve got the entire NHL mocking him.

I truly feel sorry for Scott. In Chicago, he was merely a modest reliever. He didn’t have to face the pressure of being in between the pipes on most nights. There’s really not much to say here. The fact is, Darling has played poorly, and shows no signs of improvement.

So, is Cam Ward going to have to start for the rest of season? I don’t know. He has a decent .911 save percentage, which makes me optimistic. However, he has only played 12 games. This is quite a small sample size, so he may be no better off than Darling.

It is becoming evident that our entire goaltending situation is a mess. As I stated previously, we have fantastic possession numbers. We are the best team in the league, when it comes to controlling the puck. We aren’t winning, however, because our goaltending hasn’t been good enough.

It is great to play offense and defense, but the goaltender is the most important player on the team. If he doesn’t stop the puck, no one else will. If we hope to make the playoffs this year, we have to sort this out. We can’t have a good team without a good goalie. This is undoubtedly, the biggest problem we currently face.

Conclusion

Through the first 35 games of the season, the Canes are putting together a possibly playoff push. This team has won five of its last six games, and hopefully that trend will continue after the Christmas Break.

Carolina returns on Nov. 27, to face the Montreal Canadiens at PNC Arena. Carey Price will be a good test of where the offense is at coming back from the break. Yet, the Canes need to win games like this one against the Canadiens to take a good stake in the Metro.

The opportunity is there for the Canes to make a good run when the calendar year turns. There is one more big Metro opponent on tap before 2018 begins. On Dec. 29, the Canes face the Pittsburgh Penguins in the team’s third consecutive home game.

Next: 3 reasons Scott Darling will not work out

There it is folks: those are my thoughts on the team so far. If you have anything to add or rant about, feel free to do so in the comments below. Happy Holidays, Canes fans!

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