It feels like forever since we've seen the Carolina Hurricanes play on home ice, spending the last two weeks navigating a daunting six-game road trip throughout the West. The Canes faced immense adversity during their trip, returning to Raleigh with eight of 12 possible points against some of the Western Conference's best.
There were so many good things to come out of this trip, though the group didn't make it easy on themselves. They started with three straight wins in California before dropping their first game of the season in Vegas. They closed it with a win in Denver before falling heartbreakingly in Dallas. Here are some of the biggest takeaways from the group's early-season trek.
5. There are 3 NHL goalies on the Canes' roster right now
With Kochetkov on the shelf before the season began, the Canes traveled with Frederik Andersen and Brandon Bussi, whom they claimed off waivers before finalizing their roster. It was assumed that Andersen would get the lion's share of the work. Instead, they finished the trip playing three games each, and looking very good in each stop.
Andersen earned victories in Anaheim and Colorado, the latter of which saw him stop 44 shots through 65 minutes, his most since joining the Canes, and three more in a shootout in a 5-4 win over the Avalanche. Even in his loss to Vegas, Andersen played very well, falling victim to a few defensive breakdowns.
The true revelation was Bussi, who earned the first three starts of his NHL career. It all began with an excellent debut in San Jose, looking as if he'd been doing this in the big leagues for years. He was even better in Los Angeles, facing a playoff team with plenty of firepower in an OT win. He took the loss in Dallas, but his 31 stops were his best of the trip.
It leads to an interesting conundrum for the Canes once Kochetkov is ready. While Andersen's job is safe, Kochetkov and Bussi are equally deserving of starts. The Canes have the cap space right now to keep three goalies on the roster, but they might not have the roster space. I would hate to see them run into another situation, like with Cayden Primeau, and lose Bussi on waivers.
4. The future of the defense is in excellent hands
By the end of the trip, the Hurricanes were down three of their regular defensemen, with Jaccob Slavin not traveling, Shayne Gostisbehere exiting in Los Angeles, and K'Andre Miller unable to go before the Colorado game. This forced the group to rely on three rookies against some of the Western Conference's toughest opponents.
Alexander Nikishin continued his point streak through Anaheim, which saw him score the first goal of his career. Charles Alexis Legault joined the lineup in Vegas for his NHL debut, and Joel Nystrom joined in Denver. Both played good minutes and showed flashes that will make them good NHL defensemen in the near future.
With these three rookies, Slavin and Miller signed long-term, guys like Domenick Fensore tearing it up in the minor leagues, and the great number of Russian defenders making waves overseas, this Canes team will be just fine on the back end for many years to come.
3. The power play is the team's greatest area of concern
While most of the trip was very good, the Hurricanes' power play was, without question, abysmal for two weeks. The Canes went 1-for-21 in six games, with the lone conversion coming in the team's victory over the Ducks, courtesy of Seth Jarvis. Otherwise, it was awful to watch for six games, being a big factor in both of their losses.
The team went through several iterations of the power play during the trip, especially once Gostisbehere exited the Los Angeles game. Sean Walker was used as a quarterback in his absence, and the Canes went with an all-forward group in Dallas, but nothing yielded any results. I would like to see Nikishin get a chance, but that's outside of my control.
2. The Hurricanes have a legitimate top line
Seth Jarvis and Sebastian Aho have legitimate claims to be the team's MVP for the road trip. Jarvis led the team with eight points, tying Aho for the team lead with four goals. Aho has points in all eight games this season, while Jarvis had his season-opening streak snapped on Saturday. Jarvis scored at all three strengths during the trip, notching the team's first short-handed goal of the season.
While Jarvis and Aho had been lighting up the scoresheet, their linemate, Nikolaj Ehlers, had fallen behind. It took him until Vegas to finally get his first point as a Hurricane, recording points in the final three games of the trip. Now that he's rolling, the top line feels the strongest it has been in a few years. Ehlers has meshed well, and now he's getting the results to make them dangerous at 5-on-5.
1. The team's skater depth has never been this deep
The saving grace for the group during the trip was the team's ability to plug-and-play skaters as they started dropping like flies. Mike Reilly started the season as the 7th defenseman, but he fit in seamlessly when Slavin didn't make the trip. Then, when the rest of the injuries happened, they had rookies from the AHL who stepped in and did their jobs, too.
This wasn't, exclusively, a defensive issue, either. Both Eric Robinson and William Carrier left the Colorado game with injuries, but the Canes had a list of players in Chicago they could turn to. This time it was Bradly Nadeau, and it appears that he'll get an extended look with neither forward expected to be back in the immediate future.
Regardless of who is in the lineup, the expectation remains the same for the Carolina Hurricanes. It resulted in a 4-2-0 trip, including a split in their four games against playoff teams to end it. Everyone pulled on the rope to get the job done, getting through it despite the amount of injuries. It was a long trip, so I'll be happy to see them back on home ice on Tuesday night.