Carolina Hurricanes: 3 reasons the Canes are winning more than they’re losing

It’s been 10 seasons since the Carolina Hurricanes last made the playoffs. During that time we’ve been teased with teams that hovered near the cutline but could never climb above it. Things are different this year.

This year seems different for a lot of reasons. Yes, we’re still hovering right under the cutline going into tonight’s game with the New York Rangers, but reasons for optimism abound. These Carolina Hurricanes are an entirely different beast from past teams – they have great goaltending, scoring in abundance, and an incredible team spirit.

But what are the reasons for the team’s amazing record in 2019?

The defense rests

The Carolina Hurricanes blueline has been pretty steady all year. Through Dec. 31, the team had allowed 109 goals, which ranked sixth in the league. For a team that had invested heavily in its blue line, those results shouldn’t be surprising.

Ironically, the team’s turnaround picked up steam in January when the defense had its worst month, allowing 40 goals in 12 games (3.33 average). In years past, this stretch would have doomed the Hurricanes, but the offense picked up the slack in a way it has not for at least a decade, putting up 46 goals in the month and leading the team to an 8-3-1 mark.

The defense has rounded back into spectacular form in February, allowing 1.78 goals in the first nine games of the month and posting three shutouts behind goalies Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney. Praise must also go to the recent pairing of Brett Pesce and Justin Faulk, who have looked excellent together.

Winning ugly

After a wildly successful five-game road trip earlier this month, the Carolina Hurricanes returned home and played two of their worst games of the season – and won both. Wins over the Oilers (3-1) and Stars (3-0) followed the same script – two early goals, long stretches of offensive ineptitude, and spectacular goalkeeping. Coach Rod Brind’Amour admitted after both games the team had not played well, yet they walked out of PNC Arena with two points both nights. It’s hard to imagine any recent Carolina Hurricanes team playing so poorly and winning both games of a back-to-back.

Those wins came a week after a 6-5 overtime win over Buffalo in which the Carolina Hurricanes twice blew two-goal leads to win against a team they are fighting with for a spot in the playoffs. The team displayed resilience that night to claim the extra point, a trait that had been missing in recent seasons. It hurt to give the Sabres a point, but it could have been devastating if the Canes had been the team to walk out with one point.

Balanced scoring

The offense is scoring at a frenetic pace since Jan. 1, and the team’s stars are stepping up. Sebastian Aho is on pace to finish with 93 points, and Teuvo Teravainen is on pace to surpass 70. Two Canes haven’t tallied 70 points in the same season since Eric Staal (75) and Ray Whitney (77) did so in 2008/09.

Justin Williams and Nino Neiderreiter are both on pace to surpass 50 points, which would give the Canes four players with at least 50 points in the same season, and Micheal Ferland is on pace to finish with 48 points despite missing nine games. A slight uptick in his productivity for the remainder of the season would give the Canes five players with 50 points, which hasn’t happened since 2010/11.

It wasn’t that long ago the team only had one player (Jeff Skinner) surpass 50 points in a season. He led the team with 51 points in 2015/16.

A team that has traditionally scrapped and clawed for goals is now finding the back of the net with regularity, even on nights when they are not particularly sharp. They’re certainly not an elite offensive team yet, but this bunch is much-improved over previous teams.

Winning ugly, a steady defense that has become spectacular, and balanced and deep scoring are three reasons why the vibe surrounding this team has a different feel than previous teams that came up short in the end. There’s still a lot of hockey to be played, but optimism is surging in Raleigh.