Carolina Hurricanes: Is Nino Niederreiter Hitting His Stride?

Nino Niederreiter was one of the key forwards for the Carolina Hurricanes entering the season. His season didn’t start off too well, but has he finally hit his stride?

Nino Niederreiter was exactly what the Carolina Hurricanes needed last season to make their push to the playoffs. He made an immediate impact after being acquired via trade from the Minnesota Wild, and helped the team surge into the postseason. In the playoffs, however, Niederreiter struggled; he only collected four points in 15 games played. Was this a sign of things to come for Niederreiter?

He started the 2019-20 season in an unsatisfying way. He didn’t score a goal until the eleventh game of the season. Before his first goal, he only collected points in two other games with three assists. The whole month of October he only saw the score sheet on three separate occasions. November wasn’t any better for Niederreiter, who only scored twice with three assists. Two months into the season and having three goals and seven assists isn’t ideal.

He is no stranger to starting off slow as well. Just last season, he struggled out of the gate, which led to him being traded to Carolina. Last season it took him until game 15 to score his first goal. In 2011-12 with the New York Islanders, Niederreiter scored one goal in 55 games. He was reportedly frustrated with the Islanders and wanted out.

You could see in the first two months of the season he was really pressing to get a puck into the net. He would get frustrated at times and that would really take away from his game. He has stuck with it and has picked up his play recently. Has Niederreiter finally hit his stride to turn around a disappointing start?

December was kinder to Niederreiter having doubled his points from 10 to 20. He only scored two goals, but collected eight assists. He has seven points in his last eight games (one goal and six assists). He nearly scored against the Montreal Canadiens where he beat Charlie Lindgren stick side, but hit the crossbar.

In a previous article about Niederreiter, I mentioned that he was taking penalties at a high rate. He had 14 penalty minutes in his first 16 games. That was tied for second among the Carolina Hurricanes’ roster.  Since that point, Niederreiter has greatly reduced that number to 12 penalty minutes in the last 25 games. He isn’t taking his frustration of not scoring out on the game anymore. He isn’t taking those penalties that can hurt the team. He is now fourth on the team in penalty minutes, so he has improved.

Niederreiter has had chances this season. In order to keep this positive streak going he must keep doing what he is doing. The puck will go into the net, and the chances will still come. Niederreiter seems to be gaining confidence in himself by making plays and trusting his hands more. The goals will come, but for now contributing in any way possible will only help boost his confidence even more.

Question to CC Readers: How do you think Nino Niederreiter will perform moving forward?