For the sixth straight season, the Carolina Hurricanes clinched a spot in the NHL Playoffs. They clinched the berth for the postseason after defeating the Detroit Red Wings 4-0 on Thursday, March 28 at home in Raleigh. The night from start to finish could not have been scripted any better for the Hurricanes as goaltender Frederik Andersen stopped all 24 shots that he faced. Furthermore, it extended his winning streak to seven games since his return from injury reserve (IR). He is now 11-1-0 on the season with a 1.88 goals-against average (GAA) and a .930 save percentage (SV%). Along with that, some guys had a huge Thursday night to help contribute to the win.
First Line Stays En Fuego
The first line for the Hurricanes consisting of Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, and Jake Guentzel has been supernova-hot since being put together by head coach Rod Brind’Amour. Since then, they have scored nine goals for and zero goals allowed when it comes to five-on-five play. Thursday night saw all three guys secure multi-point games in the win over the Red Wings. Both Aho and Jarvis tallied a goal and two assists while Guentzel had two assists. Aho’s assist on the Jarvis goal was the 300th of his career making him third all-time on the Hurricanes surpassing his coach in Brind’Amour. Plus, his goal was the 250th of his career giving him the distinction of being the third player in Hurricanes history to have 250-plus goals and 300-plus assists in a career. He joined the elite company of Ron Francis and Eric Staal to achieve that feat. He is also one point shy of achieving a new career high in points which is 84 in a season. There is a chance he can hit 90 for the 2023-24 season.
Aho was not the only guy to achieve a milestone as Jarvis’ three-point night saw him accumulate 60 points for the first time in his career. He is also two goals shy of having 30 for the first time in his career. There is a chance he could get over 65 points with eight games left in the regular season. Could he get to the 30-goal plateau before the end of March? The last chance to do it will be on Saturday, March 30 versus the Montreal Canadiens.
Guentzel’s two assists brought him up to 14 points in 10 games since being traded from the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 7. There is no denying that the addition of Guentzel to the team and the first line with Aho and Jarvis has paid off in dividends. His playmaking ability has given his linemates chances to find open spots on the ice and the chemistry of these three are off the charts. There is no denying that the Hurricanes’ first line could be the most lethal trio going into the 2024 NHL Playoffs. If they keep this run of form going, they are going to make teams pay in the postseason.
The Rod Brind’Amour Effect
While the players are playing lights-out hockey right now for the Hurricanes, one can not overlook the impact that Brind’Amour has had on the team since becoming the head coach. Since he was named the fifth head coach in franchise history before the start of the 2018-19 season, he has helped lead this team to now clinching six-straight playoff appearances. He has the opportunity to become only the second coach in the NHL to possibly win six first-round playoff series in a row. Furthermore, he is the only Hurricanes head coach to lead the franchise to the playoffs in three or more consecutive seasons in a row. There is something about the former Jack Adams Award winner still leading the franchise that he helped win the Stanley Cup in 2006 as the captain. The team has fully bought in and it shows season after season.
Now that the playoff berth is taken care of, Brind’Amour and company have eight more regular season games left before the postseason starts. There’s a chance for the Hurricanes to win their third-straight Metro Division title, the fourth overall in a row due to the COVID season. They currently sit at 99 points, one behind the division-leading New York Rangers. However, the Rangers do have two games in hand over the Hurricanes due to playing 72 games compared to Carolina’s 74. So that could change very soon. Either way, the Hurricanes have a chance to win the division. If not, they as of now would face the third-place Philadelphia Flyers (82 points) in the first round if it started on March 29.
Ending March on a High Note
The Hurricanes’ last game of March is on Saturday, March 30 versus the Canadiens on the road in Quebec. The game starts at 7 pm Eastern with the chance of the team achieving another 100-point season. It will be an interesting game for Carolina before the calendar turns to April which sees them having a four-day break after the Canadiens game. Either way, they are postseason-bound and the last eight games of the regular season will determine what seed they will be in the playoffs.
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