1. Nedeljkovic Still On Fire
The title of this key speaks for itself.
Alex Nedeljkovic is still on fire after all but dominating the starter’s crease for the Carolina Hurricanes so far this season.
Ned is Top 10 in almost every single goaltender advanced stat this season. If that doesn’t say “This is now my crease, thank you”, then I don’t know what does.
I still think Ned should take the 1B spot from James Reimer when Petr Mrazek comes back (which should be in a few days or so, given that he and Vincent Trocheck are on this short roadtrip with the team), but we’ll likely see him relegated back to the taxi squad since he’s already (miraculously) cleared waivers once this season.
It’s a shame, but in any case, Rod should ride Ned while he’s hot. I don’t see him cooling down anytime soon, especially since he’s made such a strong case to be the Carolina Hurricanes’ starting goaltender going into next season given that Mrazek and Reimer both are pending UFAs (Ned could be, too, but that’s another story entirely).