Hurricanes lose to Rangers, miss playoffs for ninth straight year

For a ninth straight season, the Carolina Hurricanes will be left out.

There again will be no Stanley Cup playoffs for the Canes, who have the longest playoff drought in the league. The Canes (35-33-11) were eliminated Saturday with a 2-1 loss to the New York Rangers at PNC Arena, ending the mathematical, if microscopic chance the Canes had of squeezing into a wild-card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

"Mathematically alive but realistically not so much," Canes coach Bill Peters said, aware that a New Jersey victory Saturday -- and the Devils did beat the New York Islanders 4-3 -- also would officially knock out Carolina.

A few game details: defenseman Ryan Sproul and forward Kevin Hayes scored in the second period — Hayes shorthanded — and goalie Henrik Lundqvist beat the Canes, again. Jeff Skinner's 24th goal pulled the Canes within 2-1 midway through the third but Lundqvist finished with 40 saves..

There are several reasons that the Canes will be out of the playoffs, adding another layer of frustration for their fans. Here are five:

A FEBRUARY FADE

The Canes’ plan was to survive December and January, when they played 17 of 27 games on the road, then make a move in February.

Talk about a favorable schedule. The Canes played 10 of 13 games at PNC Arena in February, beginning an eight-game homestand, their longest of the season, with a Jan. 30 game against Ottawa and a 2-1 win.

But after ending a 5-2-1 homestand with three straight wins, the Canes went 0-4-2 to end the month and were outscored 20-6. They lost twice to the New Jersey Devils in a four-day span, were hammered 6-1 by the Pittsburgh Penguins and ended the month with a tough overtime loss to Boston.

The final tally on February: 4-6-3.

NO EXTRA POINTS

The Canes have never figured out a winning 3-on-3 overtime strategy under coach Bill Peters. They’re 2-8 this season in games decided in overtime — that after going 5-9 last season and 8-11 in 2015-16. They’re also 8-14 in shootouts in the same three-year span.

For the record, defensemen Noah Hanifin and Jaccob Slavin have the two OT goals for the Canes this season.

The Canes often have had puck possession and outshot other teams in overtime but failed to win because …

NOT ENOUGH FINISHERS

Peters has grown tired of hearing the question this season: do the Canes have enough finishers?

You know, guys who can and will put the puck in the net. Not just produce “high-danger scoring chances” or get good scoring position in the “dirty areas” but capable of putting the puck on net and in the net.

The answer: they don’t have enough. It hurt that Jeff Skinner, after a career-high 37 goals last season, has dipped to 24. Nor did the Canes get the goal production they hoped for from forwards Victor Rask (14), Elias Lindholm (15), Derek Ryan (14) or Justin Williams (15).

Defenseman Justin Faulk, after a 17-goal season, has eight as opposing teams have defended him better. Hanifin, with 10 goals and 31 points, leads the Canes’ D-men in both.

The Canes, 21st in scoring at 2.77 goals before Saturday, needed a lot more — from everyone.

A LOSING GAMBLE

It didn’t seem like a big gamble at the time. Scott Darling had some impressive goaltending numbers with the Chicago Blackhawks, albeit in a backup role, and Ron Francis, then the Canes’ general manager, believed Darling was ready to be a No. 1 goalie.

The first-year return on a four-year, $16.6 million investment has not been good. Darling, despite beating the Washington Capitals on Friday, is 13-19-7 with a 3.15 goals-against average. His .887 save percentage is the worst in the league for any goalie who have played more than 25 games.

Had Darling come anywhere close to matching Cam Ward’s numbers — 22-13-4, 2.77, .905 before Saturday’s game — the Canes likely would be headed to the playoffs. He didn’t and the Canes aren’t. Maybe next year.

NOT GOOD ENOUGH

It’s easy to look at the analytics and talk about one-goal games and goals-against average and other stats, but the truth is the Canes in the end didn’t measure up. They were not a playoff-caliber team.

Peters said after last season the Canes needed to “close the gap” on the other teams in the Metropolitan Division. Carolina, 11-15-4 in Metro games in the 2016-17 season, are 10-12-5 this season after the loss to the Rangers.

The Canes traveled to New Jersey on Feb. 15 in playoff position and pointing to the Metro games left on their schedule as head-to-head opportunities to move up. Peters talked of possibly finishing in the top three in the division. They were 4-7-1 against the Metro since boarding the plane to New Jersey.

The Canes made no moves at the NHL trade deadline, sticking with what they had. What they had wasn’t good enough.

This story was originally published March 31, 2018 at 9:37 PM with the headline "Hurricanes lose to Rangers, miss playoffs for ninth straight year."