Carolina Hurricanes: Team faces an uphill battle in playoff fight

Over the past few days, Carolina Hurricanes fans have experienced the agony that comes with allowing other teams to control your destiny.

In approximately 24 hours the Carolina Hurricanes grabbed and lost the possession of the final wildcard spot, despite playing just good enough to win this past weekend in Raleigh. Despite a loss to the New York Rangers in last night’s latest crucial game, the Hurricanes remain one point out of the final wildcard spot, and one point out of third place in the Metropolitan Division chasing the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Pittsburgh Penguins, who hold those spots.

However if we’re going to be honest, the team is in the worst place any team in the playoff hunt would want to be – that is, having other teams possess the ability to control their fate.

The one positive beyond the weekend’s victories is that the team finally possesses the elusive consistent goaltending that has been lacking these past several years. However, the tandem of Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney is NOT one that can carry a team on their back to the playoffs on their own – the team in front of them will have to be great if there is any expectation of playing in late April.

The Carolina Hurricanes are not a great team when they allow their goalies to face a total of 73 shots over a two game stretch as they did at the weekend; last night’s effort restricted the Rangers to 26 shots, but the team’s offense let them down. We have to be winning games where we out-shoot the opposition by a full 18 shots.

This part of the schedule will be pivotal if the team plans to stay in the playoff hunt and winning the remaining schedule in February is an absolute must in order to remain competitive for a wildcard spot. With two out of the team’s three remaining February games being played against teams below the Carolina Hurricanes in the standings – and out of the playoff picture – a sweep is a must before the team enters the gauntlet which is known as the March schedule.

Which brings us pointedly to the key month for these Carolina Hurricanes. Of the team’s 16 games in March, 13 are against teams currently holding a playoff position. This includes games against the aforementioned Blue Jackets and Penguins. Couple that with a back-to-back with Winnipeg and Nashville, a home game against the buzz-saw known as the Tampa Bay Lightning, and a game vs the Montreal Canadiens who hold the other wildcard spot. The Carolina Hurricanes certainly face an uphill battle if they plan on controlling their own fate for a playoff spot.

With the added pressure of national attention and the scrutiny of the “hockey purists” on the team, every game is now meaningful, with playoff implications. This also means that if the team doesn’t deliver and misses the playoffs once again, they will in fact look like a “Bunch of Jerks” to the rest of the league as another Stanley Cup Playoffs begins without them.