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New-look Hurricanes off to strong start

October 19, 2021, 7:27 PM ET [1 Comments]
Ben Shelley
Carolina Hurricanes Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
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There were certainly questions about how the Carolina Hurricanes would look heading into the season, after a strange summer where they seemingly took a step back. While we’re still just two games into the year and have a long, long way to go, however, we’ve seen what this new-look group can do, and the Hurricanes look very strong once again.

The forward group is largely the same from last season, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the team has nine goals in the first two games of the season, even if a couple of them were on an empty net. Andrei Svechnikov in particular has looked great and the Hurricanes’ depth remains strong, with Derek Stepan filling in nicely in a bottom-six role as well.

Obviously, the big loss on the blue line was Dougie Hamilton, who was the team’s main offensive contributor from the back end. That said, both Ethan Bear and Tony DeAngelo are strong puck movers and have looked good in their first games with the Hurricanes. That isn’t to say Hamilton won’t be missed but so far, Bear has been very good in a top-four role, while DeAngelo should help to compensate for Hamilton’s departure on the power play.

In net, Frederik Andersen was only okay against the New York Islanders, but looked great in his second start, which came against the Nashville Predators. Consistency can be an issue for Andersen, but it’s a promising start nonetheless.

It’s only two games, but the Hurricanes are looking good early on. While certain offseason decisions could potentially hurt the team in the long run, new additions have stepped up and the team looks very competitive once again this season.



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