With more than 100 points between the two of them so far this season for the Carolina Hurricanes, Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen are emerging huge.
All the drama surrounding the playoff race and the 2018 NHL Trade Deadline can get us lost in the current performance of a few young developing stars for the Carolina Hurricanes. The Canes have just 17 games remaining, and five of those contests are against teams from the Western Conference.
On March 4, Carolina faces a top team from the West in the Winnipeg Jets, at PNC Arena. Winnipeg got the best of the Canes the first time these two squads met earlier in the season. However, there’s two players that the Canes can really rely on to make an impact in this game, and for the rest of the regular season in general.
As the playoff race really starts to heat up, the Canes have Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen, their two leading scorers, to put the bulk of the offensive load on. Aho and Teravainen are playing at a new level this season, as each enters the matchup with the Jets with at least 50 points.
Teravainen is the overall leading scorer for the Canes, with 18 goals and 51 points. Aho is just one point behind Teravainen, and leads the team in goals with 23. He has already surpassed his point total as a rookie, which was set at 49.
Head coach Bill Peters has experimented with Carolina’s top two forward lines of late. He might have found something with the trio of Justin Williams, Jordan Staal, and Brock McGinn. That leaves Teravainen, Aho, and Elias Lindholm as the other top option on offense.
Few teams have the young offensive talent to the degree that the Canes have on the roster. That is not the issue at this moment. Two players like Aho and Teravainen that can take the team to new heights, and potentially reach a 70-point mark within the next few years, can spearhead a consistent offense.
As long as the secondary scoring comes through, and the goaltending steadies out soon, the Canes have the offensive firepower to make some noise in the coming years. Finding a first line center to connect Aho and Teravainen is also a huge key to maximizing their scoring ability.
The quick release and natural vision that Teravainen possesses is what sets him apart as a future star in the league. Aho’s skating ability and natural scoring touch is what makes him a possible superstar at some point, but that’s a bit of an optimistic outlook for him.
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SportsNet CA actually mentioned Aho, Teravainen, and Staal as an honorable mention as one of the best forward lines in the entire league in the first half of the 2017-18 campaign. They’ll get to see some other top notch scorers while facing the Jets in players like Patrik Laine, Blake Wheeler, and Mark Schiefele. A chance to learn and shine through in the spotlight lies on tap for Aho and Teravainen on March 4.