***FYI: As I wrote in the last piece, when the Hurricanes and Islanders play each other I’m not going to post the same pre-game/post-game reports twice. Instead, I’ll do a report for one team, then a different blog for the other and just rotate who gets what. If you’re looking for the CAR vs NYI Game Recap,
you can find it here!***
The Carolina Hurricanes improved to 5-0 last night with a 5-2 win over the New York Islanders and while we knew the Hurricanes would compete to win the Metropolitan Division, the start is impressive, nonetheless.
The team’s new additions have all contributed to the great start. Erik Haula has opened the year with 4 goals, while Ryan Dzingel has two goals and four points. Jake Gardiner has two points and Joel Edmundson is a plus-three. Martin Necas– though certainly not perfect– has had an overall strong showing with the Hurricanes so far. He has a goal and three points, even if his defensive play has left something to be desired in the young season. James Reimer, who was simply a swap for Scott Darling and his contract rather than a key addition, has stopped 79 of 84 shots, totaling a .940 save percentage.
Perhaps one of the biggest surprises thus far has been Andrei Svechnikov. Maybe I shouldn’t even say surprise because many like myself guessed that he would have a bigger impact with an increased role this year. But even with that, eight points and a plus-seven rating through the first five games of the year may have been more than some expected.
Dougie Hamilton has also been excellent so far, scoring three goals and seven points to go with a plus-five rating. What I notice is that Hamilton is jumping into the rush quite a bit more this year. He often creates most of his offense from the point but so far, he’s been a lot more willing to jump into plays.
For any concerned about Sebastian Aho solely by looking at the scoresheet- don’t be. Aho may have just 1 point in 5 games but when you look deeper, it’s just a matter of time until he breaks through. He leads the team with 23 shots (while Erik Haula is the closest to him at 16 shots).
So is this success sustainable?
The Hurricanes are a very well-rounded team and one that’s even better than most predicted coming into the year. We’re likely to see at least a bit of a drop-off in production from Svechnikov and some of the supporting cast like Haula, Dzingel and Jordan Staal. I also wouldn’t necessarily bank on Hamilton, Jaccob Slavin and Brett Pesce combining for 14 points in the next five games to replicate how they started the year.
But what makes the Hurricanes such a difficult team to play against is how deep they are. Both in their offense and defense groups, Carolina can pretty much roll a rotation and maintain a solid matchup against whoever they’re playing.
So while they’re not going to have an undefeated season, the sky’s the limit for the Hurricanes.
Check back later in the day for the pre-game report for tonight’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
For more,
follow @BenShelley_20 on Twitter.
OTHER HURRICANES ARTICLES FROM OCTOBER
Game Recap (Game 4): CAR @ FLA
Game Recap (Game 3): CAR vs TBL
Game Recap (Game 2): CAR @ WSH
Game Recap (Game 1): CAR vs MTL
Hurricanes Updates- Gauthier, Forsberg and captaincy 
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»