Carolina Hurricanes’ 3 Stars of March

The sixth edition of “3 Stars of the Month” is here, and just like that, we’re only a couple of weeks away from the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Before we get there, though, which three players stood out for the Carolina Hurricanes in March?

Third Star: Sebastian Aho

When it comes to the third and second star, it was a toss-up between Sebastian Aho and one of his linemates. In the end, Aho will bring home the third star honors after having a solid March, as we have eight games left before the playoffs. On the season, Aho leads the team in assists (50) and points (75) in 74 games. He already passed his assist and point totals from last season in five fewer games (45 assists and 74 points in 79 games). Furthermore, he is on pace to hit the 80-point mark for the fourth time in his career and the second time in the last three seasons.

Over the course of March, the Finnish forward had three goals and 16 points in 15 games. Of the 13 assists he had, six of them came 5-on-5 and on the power play, with the other coming shorthanded. In terms of his three goals, two were at even strength and one on the power play. Out of 91 shots attempted by Aho, 43 hit the net. He had a shooting percentage (S%) of 7% over the course of the month. He did manage to average 20:45 of time on ice, with him averaging around 22 shifts a game.

The only knock on Aho was that he finished as a minus-5, with an average of minus-0.3 in 15 games. Just like the second star, that is the only real knock on Aho, after having a solid March, seeing the Hurricanes go 9-6-0 overall. Over the course of the month, Aho only had four games where he did not register a point. That’s some consistency to be on the scoresheet for 11 of the 15 games and manage to be over a point-per-game.

Second Star: Seth Jarvis

On the flip side of the debate with Aho being the third or second star, his linemate, Seth Jarvis, was that other player. Jarvis leads the team in goals (30), fifth in assists (32), and fourth in points (62). It’s impressive to see Jarvis have 30 goals after playing in eight fewer games due to injury. He also leads in shorthanded goals (four), and is tied for first in game-winning goals (six) and overtime goals (two). Overall, Jarvis has been shooting the lights out for the Hurricanes all season. In the month of March, he has been more of a helper in assists but has still scored some goals over the course of the 15 games.

In March, Jarvis had four goals and 16 points. While he did tie Aho in points, they just had a small difference in goals and assists. What put Jarvis over Aho is his one shorthanded goal (March 28 against the New Jersey Devils), his shots on goal (47), and his 8.5 S%. To give Aho some credit, he did have 91 shot attempts compared to Jarvis’ 87. When looking at his assists, Jarvis had five come at even strength, while seven were on the power play. He did play over 285 minutes of time on ice, averaging 19:03 per game.

Just like the small knock on Aho’s plus/minus, Jarvis was a minus-7, giving him an average of minus-0.5. He also had 15 penalty minutes compared to Aho’s 10. All in all, it’s tough to choose which guy goes where, but overall, the linemates really thrived together on the top line with Andrei Svechnikov and the top power-play unit. Regardless of how the regular season ends, Aho and Jarvis will be two guys the Hurricanes will lean on heavily in the playoffs to lead the way. Thankfully for them, they do have some reinforcements who will also be a massive boost for a deep playoff run.

First Star: Nikolaj Ehlers

After only having four points through the first 11 games, Nikolaj Ehlers has been on an absolute tear over the last 63 games. Since Game 12 of the season, the Danish forward has tallied 60 points and is showing why the Hurricanes signed him to a six-year, $8.5 million average annual value (AAV) deal back in July. In 74 games, Ehlers has 24 goals and 64 points. He notched 40 assists for the first time in his career and matched his point total in eight fewer games.

For the fact that he did this in his first season in Raleigh, and having a slow start to the season has been remarkable, as he’s been one of the best players on the team in the last 63 games. In March alone, Ehlers had nine goals and 20 points. That is an average of 1.3 points per game. He tallied five goals at 5-on-5 and four power-play goals. Ehlers also scored three game-winning goals for good measure, with one of them coming against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night (March 31).