Can the Hurricanes win a Stanley Cup? After a torrid first half, here’s where they stand
Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour has said — more than few times — that the top goal this season is to be “the last team standing.”
That is, the team holding up the Stanley Cup. Not just reaching the playoffs again, or making a nice run in the playoffs. Holding up the Cup and celebrating as the champions, as the Hurricanes did in 2006. The last team.
Through the first 42 games, the Hurricanes have the look of a team that might be good enough. All the measurables are solid, including the most important: a 31-9-2 record, 64 points and .762 points percentage.
As Ottawa coach D.J. Smith recently put it, the Hurricanes are one of the league’s “top dogs.” New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff mentioned Carolina’s “dominating” special teams. Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said the Canes were the “fastest team in the NHL,” one that pressures all over the ice. Add in stellar goaltending from Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta, and it’s a pretty complete team.
“There are so many attributes to that team that make them a Stanley Cup contender,” Senators captain Brady Tkachuk said.
Can the Canes do it? Can they win the Cup?
“I think so,” Canes defenseman Brett Pesce said. “It all goes back to belief. We all believe it. We think we can win. I think that’s half the battle. It’s about confidence.”
Canes Stanley Cup betting odds
DraftKings has Carolina +1300 and the sixth betting favorite to win the Stanley Cup behind the Colorado Avalanche (+475), Tampa Bay Lightning (+700), Florida Panthers (+700), Toronto Maple Leafs (+700) and Vegas Golden Knights (+800).
BetOnLine odds have the Canes at 9/1. The Avs are favored at 17/4, followed by the Panthers 7/1 and Lightning 15/2, then the Canes and Vegas at 9/1.
What successes need to continue?
Forward Jordan Martinook, recently asked about the team’s biggest strength in the first half of the season, summed it up with one word: consistency.
New Jersey’s Ruff put it another way: “I think they know what they’re good at and how they play. They trust how they play and that doesn’t change.”
The Canes are 16-4-1 at home this season and 15-5-1 on the road. They’ve averaged 3.48 goals a game, fifth in the league. Their penalty killing leads the NHL and they’re eighth on the power play. They rank high in many metrics: Corsi, Fenwick, goal differential, scoring-chance differential.
“There are two ways to look at it,” Brind’Amour said. “You can state the obvious and look at stats and points and all that — or look at it, as I like to, as how you’re playing. We’ve played pretty good all year. We’ve had a couple of hiccups here or there but it hasn’t bled into a long stretch of it. We seem to bounce back when we have an off night.”
It has been that consistency over the first 42 games that has been impressive to the head coach, whose effort was never questioned as a player and expects it from his team.
“That’s what we pride ourselves on,” Brind’Amour said. “Every team says the same thing and we’re no different, but you’ve got to back it up. That’s been one of the things from day one, we want to make sure win or lose you can walk out and the people who paid the money to come watch you can say, ‘They gave you your money’s worth.’ And I feel like this group takes that to heart.”
What should the Hurricanes alter?
While it can be hard to spot weaknesses on a team that’s 31-9-2, Pesce said there is an area that can be better.
“I think the only thing is playing a full 60 minutes,” Pesce said. “Obviously we’re one of the better teams in the league record-wise and we have a lot of confidence in our group. Sometimes, we tend to get a little lackadaisical, whether to start the game or end the game. I think as the year gets on and with more playoff-like games you’re going to need to play a full 60 minutes every night.”
The Canes are 21-1-1 when leading after two periods. They have allowed the opposing team to score the first goal 16 times, but are 9-6-1 in those games. And they’re 12-4-2 in one-goal games.
The playoffs can become a string of grueling one-goal games and lapses can be costly, as the Canes have learned — the hard way — the past three seasons.
What changes can help playoff prospects?
Jordan Staal can’t buy a goal, it seems. The Canes captain is doing everything else to help his team — winning faceoffs, forechecking, killing penalties, taking on the toughest defensive matchups. In the Canes’ 2-1 victory Saturday over New Jersey, Staal had eight hits to tie his career high.
But scoring? Staal has two goals this season, and the second one came Oct. 29 against Chicago. He has played his last 33 games without scoring, despite 54 shots.
Staal had 16 goals in 53 games in the 2021 season, shooting 15.5%, and his longest goal-less streak was 12 games. He had five goals and eight points in 11 playoff games. The Canes have gotten goals from a lot of players this season — 15 have game-winners — but need more from the captain, and especially in the playoffs.
A lasting memory from the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs was Staal batting the puck into the net for an overtime winner in Game 5 of the Canes’ series with the Nashville Predators. He can come up big in big moments.
What could hurt the Canes’ chances?
Andersen and Raanta have had injuries in the past and must stay healthy, regardless of their workloads. COVID-19 has made a run through much of the team, so that might not be as big a concern come the playoffs, but the specter of injuries is always a Cup contender’s biggest worry. You want everyone ready to go come the playoffs.
Trade math: Additions, subtractions
In 2006, the Canes obtained forward Doug Weight in a Jan. 30 trade and forward Mark Recchi on March 9, and a good team got stronger. A few months later, it was the Stanley Cup champion, Weight and Recchi filling important roles.
The Canes could look to do that again, possibly adding a winger and another defenseman before the NHL’s March 21 trade deadline. Maybe they’ll add more thump to the lineup. Or a veteran guy. Owner Tom Dundon is not fond of “rentals,” but this year the Canes could go all in pursuing the Cup.
Several names are being floated as trade possibilities in the NHL: Seattle defenseman Mark Giordano, Dallas defenseman John Klingberg, Vegas winger Reilly Smith, Arizona defenseman Jakob Chychrun and Montreal defenseman Ben Chiarot, among others. Cap limitations could cause some tough management decisions, for the Canes and other Cup hopefuls.
Depending on what happens in the Beijing Olympics, another name could surface, and he’s a guy still aching to play: Eric Staal, the Canadian Olympic captain who once wore the “C” for Carolina and helped the Canes win the Cup.
Some team superlatives
First-half MVP: Frederik Andersen. All-Star goalie has 24 wins.
Unsung: Jesper Fast. The forward called “Quickie” does all the little things right.
Surprising: Brady Skjei. Who knew the defenseman could turn into a sniper at times? OK, Pesce did predict it.
Unexpected: Defenseman Tony DeAngelo, who came to the Canes with some personal baggage, has been steady, dependable, reliable.
Contract-year pusher: Forward Nino Niederreiter, who has 13 goals and four game-winners in 36 games.
Best on-ice yapper: Vincent Trocheck. Who else?
Best-dressed: Martin Necas. Just an educated guess but he’s a sharp Czech.
Second-half MVP: If it’s Andersen again the Canes will be in great shape, but Andrei Svechnikov could be the guy.
