Between the pipes has been an issue for the Carolina Hurricanes …
Heading into the season the Carolina Hurricanes were one of the sexier picks in terms of teams that could be surprisingly good this season.
It was pretty easy to see why, too. The Hurricanes have an underrated forward crop headlined by Jeff Skinner, Victor Rask, Elias Lindholm, Jordan Staal and co. They also possess a very young, mobile defense core that can move the puck and contribute at both ends of the ice.
Despite this I kept my expectations for the Hurricanes in check – I had them finishing 7th in the Metro – for one simple reason: goaltending.
Last year Cam Ward and Eddie Lack were among the very worst tandems in the league. Rather than upgrade in the off-season the Hurricanes held onto Lack and, for some reason, gave Ward a new two-year deal.
To this point their moves, or lack thereof, in goal have hurt the team in a big way.
The Hurricanes currently sit last in the Eastern Conference with nine points in 11 games despite playing some good hockey.
At 5 v 5 the Hurricanes are controlling 53.92% of the shot attempts (3rd in the NHL), 52.12% of the scoring chances (7th) and 55.28% of the high-danger chances (5th). By all accounts they are out playing their opposition at full-strength, where the vast majority of every game is played, yet they have just three wins on the season.
The biggest reason for this, again, is goaltending as Ward/Lack have managed to stop just .874% of the shots they’ve faced.
That is a remarkably low number, but if the last couple years are any indication, it’s unlikely to improve a whole lot moving forward.
As such, an otherwise very solid Hurricanes team seems destined to be out of the playoff race by the trade deadline.
The future really is now for the Toronto Maple Leafs …
Mitch Marner hasn’t garnered as much talk as teammates, and fellow rookies, Auston Matthews and William Nylander, but Marner’s play in the early going isn’t far behind those two; if at all.
Marner has 10 points and 33 shots through the first 12 games of his NHL career and has quietly been one of the most efficient 5 v 5 players in the NHL.
Of Marner’s 10 points, nine of them have come in that game state and only Patrick Kane (10) and Brad Marchand (11) have recorded more than Marner.
Perhaps even more impressive is the rate Marner has produced at. As it stands 140 forwards have logged at least 140 minutes at 5 v 5 and not one has averaged more points per 60 than Marner’s 3.42.
That is quite remarkable when you factor in the group that fits into the 140+ minute threshold includes the likes of Connor McDavid, John Tavares, Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Johnny Gaudreau and Taylor Hall, among many other elite players.
Marner has been absolutely fantastic thus far and there’s nothing to suggest he won’t continue to be going forward. The future really is now in Toronto.
Written by Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell)
