Carolina Hurricanes: Curtis McElhinney should be the starting goaltender

With their de facto starter Petr Mrazek healed up, Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour is going to have to choose a goaltender. The 35-year-old NHL journeyman Curtis McElhinney might not be the first choice, but he’s the right one.

As they head to the Eastern Conference final for the first time since 2009, coincidentally the last time they were in the playoffs at all, the Carolina Hurricanes face a goaltending dilemma. The lovable bunch of jerks cut ties with franchise goaltender Cam Ward this past offseason and spent 2018-2019 splitting time between Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney.

Mrazek was the initial playoff starter and helped lead the Hurricanes to a seven-game victory over the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals in the opening round. He continued his success until being hurt in the second game of the Canes second-round series against the New York Islanders.

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No Mrazek, no problem for the Canes. They still finished off their sweep of the  Islanders in four games. David Marcoux, McElhinney’s former goalie coach, called him a “great insurance policy” for the Hurricanes in an article on NHL.com.

Carolina patiently waited for the rest of second-round matchups to wrap up and learn their next opponent, which will be the Boston Bruins, Mrazek has returned to practice and when asked how he felt described himself as being “at 120%”. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour made it clear he wouldn’t impulsively commit to an Eastern Conference final starter just yet.

Backup goalies stealing playoff spotlight isn’t anything new to the Hurricanes franchise history. It’s what eventual Conn Smythe winner Cam Ward did during their 2006 Stanley Cup championship cup run, replacing then-starting goaltender Martin Gerber early in the playoffs.

During the Hurricanes only other Stanley Cup Final appearance, a losing effort to the Detroit Red Wings in 2002, backup goaltender Kevin Weekes took the reins from Arturs Irbe for a series comeback versus the New Jersey Devils. Weekes would eventually be relegated to the backup role to Irbe once again as the 2002 playoffs drew on.

With the Eastern Conference finals scheduled to begin on Thursday night, who should Brind’Amour turn to? The unofficial rule of goaltending is you should ride the hot hand, which at the moment appears to the older and more traveled veteran McElhinney.

Then again, the wrong goaltending choice could ruin a series. Just ask the Calgary Flames who decided puzzled their fans with the decision to start Mike Smith over the better and younger David Rittich in the playoffs.

It might have looked like the right choice in game one when the Flames skated away with a 4-0 shutout victory, but would quickly prove the wrong choice as the Western Conference’s number one seed was upset by the Colorado Avalanche in five games.

Mrazek’s “lower body” injury was never specified, although it looks to have affected his left leg. After seeing how angrily he left game two, it’s clear he wants to play again, but consistency is the name of the game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Next, consider the goaltending matchup. Although the Bruins were a more talented team than the Columbus Blue Jackets squad they faced, there’s no denying that Tuukka Rask had to stand on his head and bail his own team out during that second-round series.

In a straight comparison, it’s clear Rask is a better goalie than McElhinney. Rask is even better than Mrazek, even at his healthiest.

For what it’s worth during the regular season, the Hurricanes and Bruins met up three times. Carolina held the advantage of two home games, with one game on the road in Boston, who will now hold home-ice advantage for the next round.

Three different goalies started those three games for the Hurricanes. McElhinney took the overtime loss on March 5th, Mrazek took the win on December 23, and Scott Darling, who was once poised to be the Canes goalie of the future, took the regulation loss on October 30th.

The Hurricanes have had more time to relax and prepare for the Eastern Conference Finals than their opponents, which may be a blessing a curse in itself. The Blue Jackets and the Islanders had the longest layover in the first round, only to lose in the second round.

Namely saying, the Bruins, after a seven-game and six-game series, are used to playing high-level hockey consistently. In a matchup as important as the last round before the Stanley Cup, these might not be the best waters to test out if Mrazek is 120% ready like he says he is.

McElhinney, while might not look like the obvious choice on paper, should be the goalie the Hurricanes roll with. If all else fails, Mrazek is more than a better insurance policy coming off the bench.