Carolina Hurricanes Player Power Rankings: A Not so Perfect Week

The Carolina Hurricanes followed up the first perfect week of the season with a 0.500 week. Here are how the players stack up against each other in week two of my player power rankings.

The Carolina Hurricanes followed up their first week of hockey by extending their win streak to five and establishing a franchise record then going to lose two of the next three games. The good news is that both losses come on the back half of a back to back and there was a nice little shutout of the LA Kings in there to even things out.

For many of the power rankings of teams that have come out with the second week of hockey in the books, there is very little more the Carolina Hurricanes could have added on. Both CBS Sports and Yahoo Sports STILL have the team as NUMBER ONE in their rankings. Everyone else is starting to take warning as the team climbs almost every power ranking in existence.

Very few if anyone has the Carolina Hurricanes outside of the top five in the league right now. And that is after suffering a couple of losses, so things are looking up right now.

First time is just a happenstance. Twice in a row? Now that is the beginning of a pattern. A really good one. Just look below to see what the authors who placed those two teams so high had to say about the team’s rise:

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So how do the Carolina Hurricanes rank against Themselves this week? Unlike last week which saw almost everyone get in on the scoring, this week saw the Carolina Hurricanes struggle to score more than twice a game outside of the 5-2 thumping they gave the Islanders.  That said this team was still solid regardless. Some guys improved and other regressed a bit, but not enough to be truly concerned for this roster.

So with over half the California road trip in the books let’s find out how your favorite Carolina Hurricanes fall on my week  two edition of Player Power Rankings? We will find out. Just keep in mind that they are ranked only for their actions over the last four games and they are only ranked against each other.

The Basement of the Team

Did you see Julien Gauthier on the ice? Neither did we. He was called down almost as fast as he was called up as he was kept off the scoreboard without a SINGLE shot on goal. But he did manage to rack up two minutes in penalties in the two games he has played. Not a good look for a guy who was raved about in the preseason.

Another man who was called back down as quick as he was called up. Brian Gibbons was the latest in the search for someone who could possibly fill in the position left behind by Jordan Martinook who is out after surgery. Only reason he is above Gauthier is the fact he managed to register a single shot on goal in two games. The search continues.

Poor Lucas Wallmark, he is the main subject of the rotating door that is becoming the fourth line wing as the center is trying to establish himself on this winning team. With Jordan Martinook the fourth line looks solid, without him Wallmark looks lost. Even the veteran Gibbons couldn’t help with that. He has more shots on goal than both Gibbons and Gauthier combined at two.

Almost putting it in your own net is also not a good look.

I am about to put Warren Foegele‘s face on milk cartons. Seriously, where is this man? Where is the postseason hero from last year that managed to draw the ire of a pornstar?  People are starting to wonder if he has made himself expendable. At Least he earned himself another point, although at this rate he won’t have enough at the end of the year to warrant another contract.

It really just a Testament to why Martinook deserved that “A”.

Oh my baby flower. Only thing keeping Haydn Fleury from sinking to the bottom of the rankings is that his defense is actually solid. It isn’t spectacular, but it isn’t costing the team more than it should. He needs a little more confidence. Seven shots in four games isn’t going to get you that first NHL goal man.

Midway Players

Oh how the mighty have fallen. “Optimus Riem” is starting to look rusty. Seven goals allowed on 56 shots is not how you win game. It’s how James Reimer went from having an average of 0.940 sv% in his first two games to earn two wins to an average of 0.875 sv% to earn two losses. He is by far the farthest to fall in my rankings. Yikes.

Brock McGinn earns himself a nice little raise in the rankings. It’s mostly because of the antics of the fourth line but he has managed to earn himself a point in the last four games. He could be higher if he shot the puck more. 5 shots on goal in four games is not second line shooting. Its third line at best. Quite honestly, he is holding back his linemates.

Jordan Staal mostly only drops so far in my rankings due to inaction. He isn’t playing any worse really, but he hasn’t made a real move. Perhaps he is slowed down by his wingers, or perhaps he is slowing them down. Picking up only one assist will earn you 15th on this roster however. Perhaps he should be higher thanks to the 14 (!) hits he has in the last four game. The man is a horse.

Jake Gardiner takes a half step back this week. Not because his play was any worse, but because he hasn’t gotten any better and others have passed him up. His defense is still as good as it can be with five blocked shots. He needs to shoot more, well actually, he needs to shoot. He has ZERO shots on goal in the last four games.

The second C stands for “consistent”. Well I wish it did. Because after the first week of action, the alternate captain only earned himself two points in the four games. That +/- rating of +6 is looking nice however. It is important to note that Jaccob Slavin is usually matched up with some pretty tough opposition.

Early Season Statement Makers

You have to feel bad for Nino Niederreiter. He keeps knocking on the opportunity’s door, but noone is there to answer. He just can not buy himself a goal. Even with empty nets he is struggling to get the puck into the net. With Victor Rask already earning himself a goal, you begin to wonder who really won that trade.

Joel Edmundson is  one of the few fast risers in this power rankings. Yes he has no points and only four shots on goal, but he brings a toughness with him that cannot be replicated. It translates to a whopping nine blocked shots and nine hits in the last four games. This is an Ironman. Just thinking about it all hurts.

Brett Pesce moves up a rank as his defensive shutdown play grows. He also scored a goal against the Islanders to get that party started. He also has 15 shots on goal. Perhaps the Hurricanes should play seven D and push him up to the fourth line on the wing? Perhaps, but there is one other defender who is just a bit more deserving of such treatment.

After going four straight games with two points Andrei Svechnikov took a slight step back and has not seen a point since the game against the Islanders where he earned himself an empty netter for his second point after earning the first off the first goal of that game. That is why he tumbled in the standings. Perhaps he needs faster linemates to keep up with him?

Sebastian Aho, in the last four games, doubled the number of points he earned from the first four games. But he still isn’t living to his full potential. Perhaps its lady luck, perhaps there is more going on. Perhaps this is simple the slow start to a career season. Only time will tell. for now he has earned himself a step up in my power rankings.

Some of the Shinier Spots on the Roster

Dzingel bells ring once again over the last four games as Ryan Dzingel manages to collect three assists as the third line once again shows how lethal they really are. They are racking up the points and each of them are in my top six here in this power rankings. Dzingel is the only one without a goal in his group. But thats because he is the gift that keeps on giving.

My only wish is that he would shoot the puck more himself. Perhaps he would be a little higher on my power rankings if he did. Perhaps he would have a few more points, this time in the form of goals. The only thing he couldn’t be adding more of would be more goofiness. He couldn’t possibly be more goofy, could he? The man is an absolute blessing to this team.

Party boy Martin Necas is the next third liner to be featured in my top six. His goal and two assists give him three points just like Ryan Dzingel. The critical difference is the goal which was huge as he used it to give the Carolina Hurricanes all the lead they needed to beat the LA Kings on Tuesday night.

But he brings more than parties and goals to the table. Necas has also helped the team by blocking three shots in the last four games. My only wish is that he would average more than a shot per game. Seems to be a theme here, right? Canes not shooting the puck? Most of the shooting has been coming from the defense, perhaps the offense should take notes?

Last week Petr Mrazek was outshined by James Reimer. This week he manages to do the opposite and outshine most goalies in the league. His shutout against the Kings barely scratches how good he was in his two starts this week.  Not only did he add two more wins to his resume this week but he did so with a 0.960 vs% and facing 50 shots only letting two get past him.

That 1 GAA is such an improvement over the previous week that saw the defense and overtime offense bail him out. He is in the zone and deserves more starts. Now that the roster is moving away from back to backs (until the first of November) perhaps it is time that Mrazek actually handle a starter’s worth of games?