Frustration sets in as Hurricanes continue to slide

Sebastian Aho, fully frustrated, angrily smashed his stick against the net, leaving it in pieces.

Aho’s emotion spilled over in the final moments of the Carolina Hurricanes’ game Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers at PNC Arena. It came after Michael Raffl’s empty-net goal helped seal a 4-2 Flyers’ victory.

For the second time in five days, the Canes could not hold a third-period lead on home ice. On Tuesday, they appeared helpless as the Boston Bruins scored five times in the third for a 6-4 win. On Saturday, the Flyers scored all four goals in the third.

Aho, in his second season with the Hurricanes, clearly cares about such things and aches when the losses come. But the Canes are all but finished this season, their will to win and ability to win in question.

Asked if the Canes are a team that has forgotten all that it takes to win, Canes coach Bill Peters said, “Fragile, for sure, but you don’t forget how to win.”

The Hurricanes have lost five of their last six games, all in regulation, with the only victory a 3-2 road win over the Chicago Blackhawks on March 8. They’ve dropped their last three, allowing 16 goals and making a slew of mistakes that good teams do not.

Since their 7-3 rout of the Los Angeles Kings on Feb 13, the Canes have gone 3-9-2. Once in the playoff mix, they’re now 11 points out of playoff position, headed in reverse with a 30-30-11 record.

A question was posed to Peters about the team’s competition level, and if he was getting enough from everyone in the lineup.

“There’s different levels, right?” he said. “I think some guys are fully vested and some guys aren’t quite where they should be or need to be.”

What can be done about those players who are not fully vested?

“That’s a year-end question, right?” Peters said.

That’s one way of looking at it. The problem is the year is not at an end. There are 11 games left to be played for Carolina — including a Sunday road game against the New York Islanders — and it’s hard to say when the next victory may come.

Jordan Staal, a team co-captain, was in the locker room and ready to address the media after Saturday’s loss, just as he usually is. Where others on the team tend to flee the room after losses, Staal again was there.

Staal used the words “frustrating” and “disappointing” in assessing the all-too-similar losses to the Bruins and Flyers.

““I think there are a lot of players in this room that care and want to win,” he said. "We’re obviously fragile. There’s times when we aren’t competing hard enough and it’s all through the lineup, myself included.”

Like Peters, Staal said the Canes sometimes try too hard to make plays, instead leading to breakdowns.

“Just mistakes that shouldn’t happen,” Staal said.

On Val Filppula’s winning goal Saturday, defenseman Jaccob Slavin said he jumped into the Canes' rush. Slavin had scored one goal and was looking for another. But he caught an edge along the left wing and was out of position as Filppula who was tripped up by an official and trailing the play, suddenly was open for a breakaway and 3-2 lead.

Jakub Voracek had tied the score 2-2 for the Flyers when left unchecked in front of the crease.

Slavin said mental mistakes have proven to be too costly for a team with a thin margin for error., a team with sagging confidence.

“When we play within our system we do well,” he said. “When we try to do too much I think that’s when those breakdowns happen.”

And sticks are smashed in frustration.

This story was originally published March 17, 2018 at 11:06 PM with the headline "Frustration sets in as Hurricanes continue to slide."