After returning from a refreshing six day all-star break the Hurricanes continued their hot play with a 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. While being the winners of 3 straight and a 7-2-1 record in 2015 the Carolina Hurricanes remain 18 points out of a playoff spot but that hasn’t stopped the whispers of the postseason from both fans and local media.
While a Stanley Cup run isn’t a likely destination for this years team the future has begun to look much brighter. If the team can maintain the key components from this team going into next season the team will be a potential playoff team if they can keep themselves from getting off to another slow start to the season like they had this year. No team can afford to go winless for a month and expect to make the postseason.
Top Line bears fruit
The starting front line of the Hurricanes has been one that has come under some scrutiny throughout the course of the season but the the unit has begun to gel as the team has started to find the results they’ve been looking for. On paper a line with brothers Eric and Jordan Staal along with 2014 all-star Justin Faulk should be a no-brainer yet it’s taken until this point in the year for the three to really begin to play complementary hockey.
Eric Staal has seemed to go on his yearly hot streak scoring streak while Jordan Staal and Justin Faulk have also picked up their scoring rate. Going forward it would appear that Head Coach Bill Peters will not tinker with his starting unit and instead allow the three to continue to improve their chemistry.
Defense and Goaltending remain locked in
Throughout the Hurricanes winning streak the team’s defense and goaltending have continued their consistent play from earlier in the year. The team has given up 3 or more goals only 3 times during 2015. It’s no coincidence that the Hurricanes are 0-2-1 in those three games. Both Cam Ward and Anton Khudobin nearly equally split time in goal allowing the netminders to remain fresh as the season progresses.
If the defense can continue to provide the team a chance on every given night then it will be up to the front lines to keep up the scoring pace in order to stay in games. The struggle to score more than two goals that plagued the team early in the season now seem like a distant memory.
What’s next for the Hurricanes?
The Canes will face the St. Louis Blues friday January 30 before traveling to New York to face the Rangers. The Blues have been one of the best teams in the tough Western Conference and will provide a good test for the Hurricanes to see how their team stacks up against a quality playoff hockey team.
Next week the team will make its west coast trip facing the Anaheim Ducks, Phoenix Coyotes, and San Jose Sharks. The trip will not only challenge the team against unfamiliar opponents in hostile environments but will also provide a chance to bond as a team.