Hurricanes clearly have very good team, but are they dominant enough to bring home the Stanley Cup
The Carolina Hurricanes have been one of the top teams in the NHL for the last three seasons. They have also made the Stanley Cup playoffs in each of the last six years. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour has led a team that combines aggressiveness and skill and one that can take advantage of mistakes to punish opponents.
However, there is a question about whether this team has enough championship mettle. In each of their last five playoff runs, one weakness or another has caused this team to fall short in reaching its goal. Issues in the past have been a lack of goal scoring, confidence and goaltending.
The 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs are well underway, and the past issues of goal scoring and confidence no longer appear to be problem areas. However, goaltending could turn into a significant issue against elite opponents, and it’s difficult to gloss over that potential problem.
Certainly, the Hurricanes have improved in that area after a poor start in the regular season, but that doesn’t mean that the team’s ability to keep the puck out of the net will suddenly become a strength. The Hurricanes are depending on Frederik Andersen to handle the majority of the team’s goaltending needs during the playoffs, and he has never shown that he can be a dominant postseason goaltender.
Hurricanes have a talented roster
The Hurricanes have quite a bit of scoring depth. Brind’Amour knows that he has at least five forwards who are capable of scoring key goals and doing it with quite a bit of frequency.
Sebastian Aho is the most dangerous of the team’s forwards as he scored 36 goals and 53 assists during the regular season with a plus-34 rating. Seth Jarvis continues to improve every time he steps on the ice and he was second on the team in scoring with 33 goals and 34 assists. Versatile Teuvo Teravainen added 25 goals and 28 assist while Martin Necas and Andrei Svechnikov are also capable of scoring big goals.
When it comes to the blue line, the Hurricanes are fully capable of having their top defensemen take over a game. Brady Skjei and Brent Burns are big-time offensive threats as well as defensemen who can shut down opponents.
Goaltending has to step up
Frederik Andersen is the goaltender that Brind’Amour is depending on to lead the Hurricanes through multiple rounds of the playoffs. He missed the majority of the regular season because of a blood-clotting issue that threatened his career.
He played 16 games during the regular season and has started all four of Carolina’s playoff games in their first-round series against the New York Islanders. The Hurricanes were victorious in the first three games of the series, but they dropped Game 4 in double overtime when New York defenseman Robert Bortuzzo scored on a point shot early in the second overtime.
Andersen did well in 16 regular-season games, coming through with a record of 13-2-0. He had a 1.84 goals against average and .932 save percentage. It seems quite likely that Brind’Amour will ride Andersen as long as he can.
However, if the Hurricanes have to make a change, goaltenders Pyotr Kochetkov and Spencer Martin will have to fill the role. Kochetkov had a 23-13-4 record during the regular season and 2.33 GAA along with a .911 save percentage. Martin was 4-1-1 with a 2.63 GAA and and .896 save percentage.
The 34-year-old Andersen has nine years of playoff experience that included three playoff runs with the Anaheim Ducks, four with the Toronto Maple Leafs and two with the Hurricanes.
Andersen is perhaps best known for his run with the Leafs. He was the losing goaltender in four consecutive playoff series. Those opponents included the Washington Capitals (2017), Boston Bruins (2018 and 2019) and Columbus Blue Jackets (2020).
Can Hurricanes play dominant hockey?
While Hurricanes have several excellent players, it is fair to question if any of their top players are dominant enough to make big plays when they are needed most. Rival teams like the Rangers have Artemi Panari and Chris Kreider, the Florida Panthers have Carter Verhaeghe and Matthew Tkachuk and the Boston Bruins have David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand.
It is fair to question if Aho, Jarvis and Burns can step up to the highest level when needed most.
Even if they can, the goaltending could be an issue at the most crucial moments. These are the problems that will prove to be Carolina’s fatal flaw during the Stanley Cup playoffs.
