Surging Hurricanes storming into playoff contention
RALEIGH, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes have skated their way out of being tied for last place and into playoff contention — all in just six weeks.
They have been the NHL’s best team since Dec. 30, going 14-5-1 in that stretch while making an improbable push to snap the league’s longest active post-season drought.
The Hurricanes entered Thursday night’s games three points out of a playoff spot with 25 games remaining, a stretch run that starts Friday night when Edmonton visits.
“The important thing is, playoff teams get it,” captain Justin Williams said Thursday. “We’re doing what’s necessary right now. We know where we are. All we need to do is keep winning and not worry about what’s going on above us.”
As much progress as the Hurricanes have made lately, there’s still so much further to go to reach the post-season for the first time since 2009 and only the second time since winning the Stanley Cup in 2006.
Not long ago, they seemed destined to set an NHL record for futility by going 10 straight seasons without making the playoffs. And they still might. But at least for now, they’ve made things interesting.
They were tied with New Jersey and Philadelphia for last in the division on Dec. 30 with 35 points, and were one point better than Ottawa for last in the Eastern Conference.
In a relatively short period of time, though, the Hurricanes have figured things out and have become pretty tough to beat. They’ve earned 29 points in that time span, one more than the New York Islanders and two more than St. Louis.
And most recently, they went 4-1 on a five-game road trip — for the first time since 1998.