Carolina Hurricanes: Can the Canes Make a Playoff Push?

The Carolina Hurricanes are currently out of a playoff position as it stands. Can the Canes make a run and change their playoff position?

The Carolina Hurricanes are currently on a 3 game losing streak and are 4-4-2 in their last 10 games. Compared to the teams record last season at the 64 game mark, the team this season is actually 1 point ahead of where they were at this point a season ago.

In the 2018-2019 season, at the 65 game mark, the Hurricanes were 35-23-6. As it stands as of right now, the Canes are 35-24-5. The Canes have had an up and down season where they have seen one of their best players go down for the rest of the regular season in Dougie Hamilton.

The Canes rank 6th in an extremely competitive Metropolitan division where 7 out of the 8 teams in the division are within playoff reach. The Canes don’t exactly have the easiest schedule heading towards the post season either.

The Canes remaining strength of schedule ranks 13th out of a possible 31 teams. The Hurricanes will play the 3rd place team in the Metropolitan (Pittsburgh Penguins) 4 times over the next few months, meaning the Canes have a chance to climb the standings in the Metropolitan while simultaneously pushing the Penguins down the standings.

The question remains to be seen of Can the Carolina Hurricanes make the playoffs? If so, then how can the team accomplish that goal?

Well let’s take a look first at the chances of the team making the playoffs as it stands. According to hockey-reference, the Hurricanes have a 54.7% chance of making the playoffs and would currently be the first team out of the playoff race if it were to be played today.  Just one week ago, the team had a 66.9% chance to make the playoffs.

At the rate the team is playing, the Hurricanes are projected to finish with about 96 points on the season. Which if projections go the way they are supposed to, it would mean that the Canes would just barely be on the outside looking in.

So, how can the Canes make a playoff push?

The Canes Must Find Goaltending Consistency

The Hurricanes goaltending group just like other position groups on the team, have had a hard time maintaining consistency. As evident by the last 3 games and injuries to the squads 2 starting goalkeepers, the Canes must find some level of consistency at the position.

With key injuries to the squads two starting goalies and injuries to 2 of the teams best defenders in Dougie Hamilton and Brett Pesce, the goaltending may struggle to find consistency even more now.

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Although the Canes made multiple moves at the trade deadline to try and secure goaltending security. The Canes traded for defenders Brady Skjei and Sami Vatanen in two different stunning moves. Though, the Canes didn’t make any moves to secure another goalie, they have a former AHL goalie of the year in Alex Nedeljkovic on deck ready to prove himself.

The Canes also have Anton Forsberg a goalie, who has struggled to maintain consistent time in the NHL. Though the Canes have made big moves to help secure their blue-line, the squad likely won’t be able to rely on AHL goalies forever if they want to win a lot of games. The Canes are going to have to hope that Mrazek and Reimer are both able to make quick recoveries.

Otherwise Ned is going to have an opportunity to show that he is capable of being an NHL goalie. Ned lost his first start after injuries to the starting goalies, though he will likely get another chance when the Canes face the Flyers on Thursday night.

The Hurricanes are tied for 10th in the league with a team goals allowed of 183. The goalies haven’t been bad however, much of that has been due to stellar defensive play as the Canes face the second fewest shots against in the league with only 29.4 shots on goal per game. Essentially, the Canes must have better goalie play to be able to be more successful.

Also below is a reminder that the Canes made history by beating the Maple Leafs with a Zamboni driver:

The Hurricanes Must Be More Disciplined

The Carolina Hurricanes may as well be the least disciplined team in the league this season. So far through 64 games, the Canes have been short handed the most out of any team in the league with 226 times being short handed. The next team most penalized in the league is the Capitals with 218.

The problem is that the situation isn’t going to get much better with the Canes adding 3 new faces to the team. Though, Rod Brind’Amour is a coach in which any player would love to play for. The Canes must find a way to stop committing penalties even though their penalty kill ranks 5th in the league.

The Hurricanes aren’t going to be able to win many games when they are chasing the opposition half the time from being a man down. Hopefully, with more of an urgency to win games down the last stretch of the season, the team will be able to play a little bit more smart.

Last season, Carolina finished in the middle with committing the 16th most penalties In the league. So Rod and the rest of his staff need to light a fire under this group in order to obtain a playoff berth because if they continue to commit as many penalties as they have been, then the squad will likely miss out on this years playoffs.

Carolina Must Win In The Division

The Carolina Hurricanes have struggled to be able to defeat teams within their division. As it stands, the Canes are 6-10-1 against other teams in the Metropolitan. The Canes are almost losing twice as many games as they’re winning in the Metropolitan and that isn’t a recipe for success for a potential playoff team.

That Hurricanes record against the rest of the teams in the NHL is 29-14-4. Going down the last stretch of the season, Carolina HAS to find a way to beat their opponents in the Metropolitan. The Canes will likely get a playoff bid if they can obtain a winning record against the rest of their metropolitan schedule.

With some new faces, the Canes will look to find a winning streak and make it to the playoffs in consecutive years for the first time in franchise history.

Key games to watch include 3 straight games against Metropolitan opponents when the Canes face the Flyers March 5th, Islanders March 7th and Penguins on March 8th. The Canes also play the Blue Jackets on April 3rd and the Penguins on March 28th which are within the last 6 games of the season and likely games deciding if the Hurricanes make the playoffs or not.

CC Readers: What does Carolina need to do in order to make the playoffs?