'Overachieving' Canes Continue to Roll

RALEIGH, NC – More than a quarter of the way through the EHE season and one of the biggest surprises thus far appears to be the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes are near the bottom of the league in most offensive categories and special teams. Yet, there they are, tied atop the Eastern Conference in points after Monday night's shootout victory over the St. Louis Blues. The question everyone seems to be asking is, how are they doing it?

"Our team may not be the poster child for anything you can track statistically," said Carolina head coach Lindy Ruff, "Our competitiveness has been there every night and that's something I think [opposing] teams are having a tough time handling."

The Hurricanes have shot out to a 9-4-1 record despite giving up more goals than scoring themselves. "One-third of our total goals against have come from just two embarrassing losses, so the stats lie a bit," said Ruff. It is true that the stat is deceptive, as despite it, the Hurricanes have allowed the eighth-fewest goals against this season while allowing the seventh-fewest number of shots.

Before the season began, many believed that both a questionable goaltending tandem would have the Hurricanes' playoff chances in doubt. Instead, they have allowed just two or less goals in ten of their 14 games this season, including seven of the past eight.

 "Alex [Stalock] has been able to handle the great amount of pressure placed upon him this season and is earning himself more starts as we move along," Ruff said of the undersized net minder, who has never previously been a regular starter in the NHL. In nine starts this season, Stalock has an astounding 1.74 goals-against average and .935 save percentage, good enough for third in the EHE in both categories.

Another calming influence has been veteran Kimmo Timonen, who was acquired from the New York Islanders earlier this season. The recently-turned-40-year-old Finn was brought in to provide stability and leadership on the backline and has done just that. "He's a guy that has earned every ounce of respect he deserves," said Carolina general manager Kevin Lacy. "Obviously, most of our younger players are forwards but there is something to be learned from Kimmo no matter what position you play or how long you've been playing."

No matter how well the Hurricanes play in their own zone, one has to believe that they will need to start scoring more goals if they want to maintain their track to a playoff spot. Corey Perry, as expected, leads the team in goals. However, only the Nashville Predators and New York Rangers have a leading scorer who has fewer than Perry's five goals.

A key loss to the forward corps was when winger Johan Franzen was sidelined during the preseason with a high ankle sprain. There is no timetable for his return.

"We have some players in different roles than they're used to or where we hoped to put them after Franzen's injury," Ruff said. "It's an opportunity though and it'd be nice to see some of our younger players take advantage of it." Brandon Saad has just three goals despite playing most of the season with veterans Perry and Henrik Sedin, while rookies Boone Jenner and Markus Granlund have only one goal apiece.

Still, the story lives on with the Hurricanes hanging in there with the likes of the Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils at 19 points. Time will tell whether they are 'that team' that gets off to a hot start and fizzles out in the second half or if they are a serious contender.

"We won't make any brash decisions just to make the playoffs," said Lacy. "We have a long-term plan for the club but who says you can't enjoy some wins along the way?"

Enjoying the wins is exactly what 'Caniacs' have been able to do so far this season.


Checkers Have Entire AHL in Check

Whether the tandem of Alex Stalock and Jonas Gustavsson can hold down the fort in Raleigh remains to be seen. However, the tandem of John Gibson and Keith Kinkaid in Charlotte are proving every bit of their worth for the Charlotte Checkers this season.

The Checkers were expected to be a top contender for the AHL's Calder Cup this season and have done nothing but steamroll the competition thus far. In fact, the Checkers have been so well-rounded that it is difficult to pinpoint just what has mattered most in their success. Gibson and Kinkaid have combined to allow the fewest goals in the AHL this season, while the defense has allowed an average of fewer than 20 shots per game. Add a scoring output of over 3.6 goals-for per game and the result has been the Checkers' 13-1-0 record.

"We have an amazing mix of high-end veteran scorers like Chris Conner and Andrew Ebbett with future NHLers like Rickard Rakell and Ryan Murphy," said Checkers head coach Jeff Blashill. "It makes my job really easy on some nights."

There was a question of how the team would cope with losing Granlund to promotion to the big club. Instead, the staggering success of the team has meant that reserve players like Evan Trupp and Cody Kunyk have found it near-impossible to crack the lineup.

The oddity of it all is that the Checkers rank dead-last in penalty killing this season, although they are also the least penalized team in the league. Apparently when you score 50 goals in 14 games, it does not really matter.