We May Have Been Wrong About the Canes, and That's Okay

The Hurricanes stand on the brink of advancing to their first Stanley Cup Final appearance in 20 years.

You know, sometimes hockey has a funny way of shutting me up. If you’ve subscribed at least since the deadline, you’ll know that I was very critical of the Hurricanes’ lack of moves at the deadline. I felt that given their current assets and cap space, it was a failure to not make a big splash and give the team that final push they needed. Boy, do I look foolish. Carolina has been flat-out dominant in these playoffs save for one game where they were coming off of nearly two whole weeks without a game. Carolina’s scoring has come from all up and down the lineup and the team is one win away from the Stanley Cup Final. This is huge, and it’s okay to admit that I may have overreacted a bit.

So, yes, I was wrong to doubt the team. It’s almost like Eric Tulsky and Co. know what they’re doing. I think it’s reasonable to say that even though the Hurricanes won the Eastern Conference during the regular season, we didn’t ever really see the team give their full, 100% effort every night. Hell, Jaccob Slavin looked like a ghost of his former self a lot of the time this season. And you could tell that the team was saving for this final marathon. The playoffs may seem quicker, but it’s not a sprint. The physicality amps up, the games get tougher and you have to fight for every inch. I remember going to game one of the first round against Ottawa and seeing the Hurricanes in the first few minutes of that game. They were hitting everything in sight and the Senators had no space. Carolina looked like a completely different team out there and were in a class of their own. Ottawa was just in survival mode. Of course, at that point in the playoffs, I had no way of knowing what would follow from the Hurricanes. I remember as we left that game, my wife said to me “this team looks like they could go all the way, Matt.” And part of me was thinking that yes, they do look different, but they have to prove it first. The next 11 games have done just that. Carolina gave Ottawa nothing in the first round, then proceeded to do the same to Philadelphia, sweeping both teams. After an ugly game one where every single Hurricane had their worst game of the season, Carolina has put together three clinical defensive performances while also taking a commanding 3-1 series lead. And, if you watched OT in game three and all of game four, you can see that Montreal is gassed. They’ve run into the meat grinder that is the Carolina Hurricanes.

Some folks were concerned that Logan Stankoven wasn’t a good enough second line center for the Hurricanes to be able to win in the playoffs. For those of you keeping track at home, he has four more goals than anyone else on the Hurricanes in these playoffs and his linemates lead the team in scoring in the playoffs. The fact of the matter is that Stankoven is a big game player, and despite his stature, he shows up when the games matter the most. He, Jackson Blake and Taylor Hall have been unbelievable in these playoffs and they’re one of the best lines in hockey right now.

Then, there’s the goaltending. Frederik Andersen’s regular season was one to forget, but he’s a hilarious 11-1 in the playoffs with a .928 save percentage and a 1.44 GAA. That’s absurd. There have been six shutouts in the playoffs so far and Andersen has three of them, if the previous stats didn’t do him enough justice. As a whole, the team has played better in front of Andersen and has also been able to outscore their problems on the rare occasion where he’s given up some bad goals. And now that the Canes have won three games since game one, I’m still going to say that a lot of those goals weren’t Andersen’s fault. Yes, you’d like a high danger save here and there, but the sheer quantity of grade A chances, missed assignments and turnovers is a team issue, not a goaltending issue.

The Hurricanes’ fourth line is the best fourth line in hockey right now and it’s not particularly close. The production is nice, although none of them have more than five points in twelve games. But what really stands out to me is their absolute dominance whenever they get on the ice. They wear down whichever line they’re matched up against and do a damn good job of it. I know some folks saw William Carrier get a six year contract and wonder why, but watch him play in these games and you’ll see him hit everything in sight and have extended offensive zone time consistently. Jankowski and Robinson work perfectly as players that can push the pace on that line while also being quite physical as well. The result is a line that has given Montreal hell in this series. And that can be said for the entire roster right now, as every line seems to be running the Habs ragged.

While the Hurricanes haven’t punched their ticket to the Final yet, it’s clear this team is different than years past and they have the juice to go all the way. Watching this team in the playoffs has made me realize why the team felt comfortable staying put at the deadline despite some options to do more. They didn’t need to. And, due to their cap space and some guys in the system, this isn’t even the best potential version of the Hurricanes! There’s room to get even better, which should terrify the rest of the league. It’s the nature of fandom to be reactionary about your favorite team. It’s also okay to admit you were wrong and that sometimes, the guys in charge know what they’re doing. I’d say the Hurricanes’ management has proved that and more with how the team has performed in the playoffs.