3 Takeaways from Carolina Hurricanes’ critical end to April

The Carolina Hurricanes just wrapped up a pivotal two week stretch of games.

Since April 15, the Carolina Hurricanes have played two-game sets against each of the other four Central Division teams that are in the Playoff hunt. That is a great way for any team to not only benchmark itself against its rivals, but also to earn some separation in the standings. Carolina should be happy with the results in both of those categories.

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The Canes became the first team in the Central to clinch a berth in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs after earning a point on Monday against the Dallas Stars. That alone makes this important portion of the season a success.

The Hurricanes also managed to show that they match up very well with all of the teams that they could encounter in the postseason, going 1-0-1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars, while sweeping the two games against a surging Nashville Predators team.

Analyzing the Carolina Hurricanes as we enter the stretch run

So, what does it all mean? Most people have felt for a while, if not all season, that this team would be a postseason team. The Canes have qualified for the postseason in each of the last two seasons and reached the Eastern Conference Final in 2019. With that said, did we actually learn anything new from the last couple weeks of April? I have certainly been reassured of my strong feelings for the team from Raleigh, as the last two weeks have showcased what the Hurricanes are capable of accomplishing.

Here are three takeaways from a pivotal stretch for the Carolina Hurricanes.

1. The Hurricanes don’t care about your momentum

Getting hot at the right time can be enough to take teams in any sport deep into the Playoffs. If you don’t believe that, then explain how the St. Louis Blues turned things around in such dramatic fashion only two seasons ago. However, it appears as though being on a hot streak doesn’t matter as much when Carolina is the opponent.

The Preds entered their two-game set against the Canes with 13 wins in 16 games, but Carolina was able to slow that progress tremendously, outscoring Nashville 7-2 in the two games. Similarly, the Florida Panthers had won 10 out of 14 contests before the Hurricanes earned three points against them.

Then, most recently, the Dallas Stars came into the matchup against the Hurricanes with a 9-3-2 record in the month of April, yet lost ground in the two games against their rivals. Clearly, Carolina is a solid enough team that even playing your best hockey as an opponent may not be enough.

2. Alex Nedeljkovic is a reliable option in goal for the Canes

He may not be the goaltender that Carolina expected to have leading the Playoff charge, but Alex Nedeljkovic is certainly one that this club can be confident in as the postseason looms. He has filled in nicely while both Petr Mrazek and James Reimer have struggled with injuries this season, and he has continued to play at a high level as the season has gone on. While the sample size from Nedeljkovic is small, his play has not dropped off, and he is getting great results against strong teams.

In each of the last four series, Nedeljkovic has recorded a win, surrendering only nine goals in the five games he played in that stretch. On the season, he has posted a 13-4-3 record with a 1.94 Goals Against Average and a .932 Save Percentage. While it may be too early to make any serious judgements on Nedeljkovic in the long term, he has provided the Canes with another reliable player between the pipes, and one that the team can trust as it pursues the Stanley Cup.

3. This team should be a Cup favorite

There is simply no weakness in this Carolina lineup. The Hurricanes feature tremendous depth at forward, on defense, and in goal, and the special teams units are elite, as the power play is the best in the NHL (27.7) and the penalty kill (84.3) ranks in the top three.

In addition, the Canes are the second best faceoff team in the league and boast the second best point percentage among all teams. Combine that with the fact that this team is 9-2-4 in April and is on an eight game point streak, and there is no reason to doubt what this club can accomplish.

Yes, the Central features two other top notch teams that are expected to compete at a high level in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but the Hurricanes have winning records against both the Lightning (4-3-1) and the Panthers (6-0-2), which tells me that Carolina should be viewed as the favorite in this division to reach the semifinals, even over the defending champions.

The Carolina Hurricanes will continue to battle in the standings for positioning, and it won’t be long before they clash again with one of the teams that recently fell victim to Carolina. The Canes have seven games remaining and will conclude the regular season on May 10 against the Nashville Predators.