Hot streak helps Canes surge into 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 14-51 in that stretch while making an improbable push to snap the league’s longest active post-season drought.
The Hurricanes entered Thursday night three points out of a playoff spot in the East with 25 games remaining, a stretch run that starts Friday night when the Edmonton Oilers visit.
“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, 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, however, the Hurricanes have figured things out and have become pretty tough to beat.
Carolina has earned 29 points in that time span, one more than the New York Islanders and two more than St. Louis, two other red-hot teams.
Most recently, the Hurricanes went 4-1 on a five-game road trip. The last time that happened was in 1998, when PNC Arena was still under construction and the Hurricanes were playing their home games in Greensboro.
“It was a big road trip, and we’re doing what we need to do right now,” Williams said, “which is banking wins and seeing what happens.”
The offence appears to have found its scoring touch, with an NHL-best 76 goals over that 20game span. Sebastian Aho has 25 points — nine goals, 16 assists — during the team’s hot streak while linemate Teuvo Teravainen has 22 — nine goals, 13 assists.
And Nino Niederreiter has fit right in with his new team, racking up 10 points in 11 games since he was acquired from Minnesota in a trade for Victor Rask.
With the league’s trading deadline Feb. 25, the big question remains whether the Hurricanes will be buyers or sellers.
Micheal Ferland, acquired in a blockbuster off-season trade with Calgary, is due to become an unrestricted free agent July 1, so naturally, trade rumours have surrounded him.
But it might be worth it to Carolina to keep the hard-hitting forward with 15 goals and 16 assists for the stretch run — and perhaps try to sign him to a contract extension.
“I’d like to get a deal done, obviously,” Ferland said. “We’ve put ourselves in a good spot, trying to get into the playoffs. I’d like to stay here and help this team.”
SKINNER ENJOYING TIME WITH SABRES
Jeff Skinner knows how much the Buffalo Sabres and their playoff-starved fans want him to stay in Buffalo beyond this season.
“Ha, ha, I’ve heard,” the forward said with a laugh in December. “I’m having a lot of fun, too.”
And yet, two months later, Skinner is nowhere closer to providing anything resembling a definitive answer regarding where he’ll be playing once his contract expires after this season.
“The present is still where we are, and that sort of thing will play itself out,” he said Thursday.
“I think there’s no point in really talking about it now because there’s nothing really to talk about from me on my end.”
Skinner, however, can’t hide his emotions when asked how much he enjoys Buffalo.
His eyes brighten and he breaks into a wide, toothy smile.
“I like it here. Yeah, I like it.” Cast off by Carolina as part of the Hurricanes’ latest rebuilding plan, the three-time 30-goal scorer and 2011 NHL rookie of the year is approaching career-best numbers since being traded to the Sabres in August.
He has a team-leading 34 goals — three short of matching a career high — and was second in the NHL behind Washington’s Alexander Ovechkin (38) prior to Thursday’s NHL slate.
His seven game-winning goals are second in the NHL and most in Buffalo since Derek Roy had nine in 2008-09.
Skinner has been so consistent, his longest goals drought was four games to start the season.