The Carolina Hurricanes stand at the seventh spot in the Metropolitan Division with 73 points, six points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs who currently hold the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Hurricanes have gone 4-4 in the last two weeks, and lost their first game on the road trip to the Philadelphia Flyers. They have three upcoming games on this road trip and a four game home stand in the next two weeks. These games will prove to be imperative for the Hurricanes as the playoffs get closer.
Road Trip
The Hurricanes start out the week in Florida, taking on the Panthers in BB&T Center. The two have split the season series thus far at 1-1, with the Hurricanes losing their last game in Florida in a shootout back in February. This game should not be a hard test, as the Panthers are one of the teams below the Hurricanes in the race for the wild card spot.
Outside of the ageless magic of Jaromir Jagr the Panthers have been poor this season, averaging only 2.46 goals per game while allowing 2.79 goals per game. Carolina should expect a lot of shots on goal and focus on exposing the less than stellar power play percentage of the Panthers (16.7%). With Cam Ward expected to start, the Hurricanes should come out with a win for their opening game on the road.
Just two days later Carolina will travel to Montreal to play the Canadiens. To the surprise of no one, the Habs have put together another impressive season, with a 41-23-8 record and one of the league’s best defenses. On the other side of the ice from Cam Ward, Carey Price is expected to start and boasts a 33-17-5 record and the sixth best save percentage in the league (.923%).
The Canadiens are hot, going 8-2 in their last 10 games. Carolina has split the season series with the Canadiens thus far at 1-1, losing to the Canadiens the last time they were at Montreal. While the Hurricanes tend to upset top teams towards the end of the season, don’t expect anything special from them.
They finish their road trip at New Jersey to face the Devils. If there is a team that has proven to be just as bad as the Hurricanes this year it is the New Jersey Devils, who currently sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. They are 1-8-1 in their last 10 games and have only managed to win one game since February 18. The Hurricanes rank higher than the Devils in just about every statistical category and should have no problem scoring against a unit that allows an average of 2.92 goals per game.
Projected starting goalie Cam Ward won’t have too much to worry about either as New Jersey ranks dead last in shots on goal per game with a whopping 27.6. If the Hurricanes are able to generate any sort of offense they should win this game and finish 2-1 on the road trip.
Home Stand
Carolina will get a day off after New Jersey before hitting the ice again next Monday against the Detroit Red Wings for back to back home games. After making the playoffs for 25 straight years, the Red Wings sit second to last in the Eastern Conference with 67 points and may lose the longest playoff appearance streak among the four major sports in North America. Carolina lost early in the season at Detroit and the second game was postponed. Detroit is number 26 in the league in goals per game (2.41), number 26 in shots on goal per game (28.2), and number 28 in power play percentage (13.8%).
They are currently on a two game winning streak but are 4-5-1 in their last 10. It is expected that Petr Mrazek will mind the net for one of the games, as he has been one of the few shining spots for the Red Wings this year. Cam Ward and Eddie Lack will split the two games at goalie. Carolina knows this team very well and can use their speed to get past an older Red Wings rotation. The Hurricanes have been very good at home this year, posting a 21-10-4 record, but have still not shown the ability to play consistently. I would expect Carolina to split these two games and come away 1-1.
The Hurricanes will then square off against arguably hockey’s best team this year, the Columbus Blue Jackets. With a 47-18-6 record the Blue Jackets have been unstoppable this year, home or away. Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky leads the NHL in wins (39) and goals allowed per game (2.04). The unit as a whole has been playing exceptionally well, ranking as the leagues fifth best offense. They are even scarier on the other side of the puck ranking second in the NHL in goals allowed per game with 2.30.
It would be optimistic, to say the least, for Carolina to get out of this game with even a point. They did beat the Blue Jackets 5-3 at home back in January but have dropped the last two contests. Depending on health and rest either Ward or Lack could start for this game. Expect Carolina to lose this contest.
To finish it off the Hurricanes will play the Dallas Stars. The Stars looked like an elite team last year but have fallen off. They have a worse record than Carolina at 28-33-10 and have an average offense, averaging 2.75 goals per game. Their defense has been their weak point as they allow just under 3.5 goals per game. Carolina lost the first contest at Dallas 5-2 in February.
Forward Tyler Seguin is still one of hockey’s best playmakers, but with a defense this bad Carolina should easily be able to take advantage. Depending on who starts against Columbus either Ward or Lack will get the start at goalie and Carolina will look to make the crowd loud on the first Saturday in April. The Canes should handle the Stars and win their last game in the home stand.
If Carolina goes at least 4-3 through this stretch of games that puts them at 81 points. Granted, the teams above them will play games and have the chance to gain points as well but focusing on winning will put Carolina in charge of their playoff chances.