Hurricanes: Five Unanswered Questions from a Forgettable January

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RALEIGH, NC – JANUARY 31: Carolina Hurricanes Goalie Petr Mrazek (34) slaps the puck clear of the net with his stick during a game between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Las Vegas Golden Knights on January 31, 2020 at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC. (Photo by Greg Thompson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Is James Reimer about to Swipe the Starting Position from Mrazek?

As I am writing this, James Reimer wins another shootout overtime game. Petr Mrazek, who has gone 2-5-0 in the seven starts this month is in danger of losing his starting position to his backup. Reimer who came in on a trade with the Panthers that involved Scott Darling has been the better goalie last month posting a 3-0-1 through four games.

His latest win at PNC Arena has many wondering if the Hurricanes should turn to Reimer more often. The numbers support this. In his last 14 starts Reimer has gone 10-2-1 with one of his starts credited as a loss to Mrazek in a rare turn of events against Toronto where the team that pulls the goalie gains a lead that is lost by the replacement.

So where do the Hurricanes turn from here? With only 30 games left on the season they need every point they can get, and so far it has been James Reimer that the teams seems to play better in front of.

While the blame cannot be solely on the goalie, after all many of the games Mrazek has started didn’t see many goals from the offense, there is something to be said about a team feeling more confident in front of a certain netminder. Is that the case here with Petr Mrazek, who is still averaging a decent 0.904 sv % or is the defense to blame?

That is a question to be answered moving forward in the season as they march towards the Stanley Cup Playoffs. How fast they find the answer may be critical to if they make it to the playoffs.

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