Three New Year’s Resolutions for the Carolina Hurricanes

With only one game left before the advent of 2020, the Carolina Hurricanes have plenty of reasons to celebrate.  There are, however, a few areas that need to be addressed in order for them to complete another long run in the postseason.

Saturday night gave the Carolina Hurricanes a much-needed shot in the arm.  With the league’s top team paying a visit to PNC Arena and the home team mired in a 3 game losing streak, you could be forgiven for tempering your hopes.

As it turned out, the Hurricanes not only showed up but they controlled the play for long stretches of the game.  “Capital Killer” Warren Foegele led the way with 2 goals and an assist, enabling Carolina to start a season-high 7 game homestand with a 6-4 victory.

The game had other positives for the Hurricanes, starting with Ryan Dzingel.  The free-agent acquisition has been fighting through a tough December, picking up just 1 goal and 2 assists in the first nine games of the month.  Saturday’s game included strong play from the winger, who picked up 2 assists, giving him 4 points in his last 3 games.

Über talented rookie Martin Necas continued his impressive ascendance against the division leaders.  After a blocked Erik Haula shot, Necas found the puck in the slot.  He could have taken advantage of the confusion and rifled a shot on goal.  Instead, he waited, keeping the puck on his backhand and drawing Braden Holtby out of position before drawing back to his forehand and sliding the puck into a vacant net.

https://twitter.com/NHLcz/status/1211225539664633856

As a result, Necas has 3 goals and 3 assists in his last 5 games and is on pace to finish the season with 20 goals and 29 assists.  After missing 4 games due to injury, the young Czech wasted no time getting right back up to speed.

Granted, all of that is good.  The fact that the Hurricanes sit in a playoff spot is good, as is their 73.8% probability of making their second consecutive playoff appearance.  There are a lot of things going right for the Hurricanes, however, there are still areas of improvement as we inch towards a new year.

Solid, consistent effort

I was browsing the Hurricanes subreddit recently when I saw a post soliciting opinions on how good the team is.  While Carolina may not have the most talent-laden roster in the league, there is no doubt how good this team can be.  Andrei Svechnikov and Sebastian Aho are deadly.  Teuvo Teravainen (who may be an actual wizard) possesses a hockey I.Q. that borders on being scary.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg.  Yes, there are sometimes players who are slotted in higher than they probably should be, but the talent and depth is there.  If anything, the miscast players are a result of coaching preference as opposed to a lack of options.

The blueline is as impressive, if not more so.  Jaccob Slavin and Dougie Hamilton make for a fantastic pairing, each player’s style perfectly complements the other.  Brett Pesce is as underrated and reliable as they come.  The quartet of Joel Edmundson, Haydn Fleury, Jake Gardiner, and Trevor van Riemsdyk have had their ups and downs but are all more than serviceable NHL defensemen.

So, what could hold back such a talented lineup?  I mean, teams, no matter how good, aren’t going to win them all, right?  Often, in the case of the Hurricanes, the issue is effort.  Sounds funny when you’re talking about a team coached by Rod Brind’Amour, a man who, in his playing days, was the living embodiment of a strong work ethic.

To be fair, I’m not saying the Hurricanes are lazy or that their play is uninspired because that’s just not true.  What I am saying is that when they play to their capabilities, they absolutely smother the opponent.  They swarm the puck relentlessly and hound opposing players, often leaving them without the time or space necessary to do anything meaningful.

When they play like that, the sky’s the limit.  When they don’t?

Well, it’s not pretty.  You won’t win every board battle or every loose puck but that doesn’t mean you don’t try.  As a fan, you can tell how a period is going to go early on based on the tenacity of the Hurricanes’ play.  If they’re skating non-stop and blanketing the other team, it’ll go well.  If they’re a step behind and seem disinterested, it won’t.

Please note that I said period, and I did so intentionally, as the Hurricanes can be prone to inconsistent play within a game, not just game to game.

If the coaching staff clamps down on this, I have no doubt the team will have a great second half and make a strong postseason run.  This seems obvious until you remember that this isn’t exactly a new issue.

The Hurricanes have a lot of youth on their roster, but there are plenty of players who have been around for at least a few seasons to help guide them along.  Sorting out the effort level will be a key for this team in their remaining 43 games.

Opening the floodgates for Nino

Nino Niederreiter was a revelation for the Carolina Hurricanes after his acquisition in January.  The Swiss winger stepped into the lineup and put up 30 points (14g, 16a) in 36 games.  While his production faltered in the playoffs (1g, 3a in 15 games), he continued to play a solid game away from the puck.

Then came the start of this season.

Niederreiter failed to register a point through the Hurricanes’ first 3 games.  As October yielded to November, he had picked up just 1 goal and 4 assists in 12 games.  The new month didn’t bring good tidings as the winger managed 2 goals and 3 assists in 15 games.

Something was wrong.  He was fighting it and it showed.  To his credit, he kept playing and doing his best to help his team, but the frustration was apparent.  Thankfully, December has treated him better as he has racked up 2 goals and 8 assists will just one game left.  In a sign that he’s heating up, 6 of those points have come in the past 6 games.

His recent surge has elevated his points per game to .51, his lowest total since a series of leg injuries hampered him in the 2017-18 season.  Tying things back to his trying season is the fact that his shots per game currently sits at 1.6, his lowest total since 2011-12, his final season with the New York Islanders.  Even more telling is his 7.9% shooting percentage, a full 4% below his career average.

At 27, it seems likely that Niederreiter’s first-half struggles are an outlier and that he’ll rebound.  I tend to agree with that mindset.  He has the talent, he just needs to simplify his offensive game.  Get more shots on net and the goals will come.  Once that happens, the confidence amps up and he’ll be rolling.

Additionally, Nino does well when he gets to the front of the net as well: