How the Hurricanes have been quietly one of NHL’s top teams once more

*All stats current prior to games played on Jan. 6, 2023

The Carolina Hurricanes stand out among a sea of elite contenders.

You can bet there are more sexy teams. Colorado won last year’s Stanley Cup largely due to its blistering pace. It’s a formula the New Jersey Devils have tried to replicate this year. Tampa Bay’s modern dynasty was built on an unparalleled combination of lineup flexibility and elite players at each position, as well as superior goaltending.

The Hurricanes aren’t a team you’d recommend to a casual fan, but their success is undeniable. During their recent 11-game winning streak they dominated opponents while painting the picture of an offensive juggernaut. Few would associate them with a highlight reel team.

We don’t want to bore you with an overly mathematical description, but here’s how the Hurricanes rank analytically, per Natural Stat Trick.

Pretty, pretty, pretty, good. Carolina is elite at sustaining offensive drives and creating shots, but perhaps more tellingly, it’s equally adept at suffocating the opposition. This is possibly because the Hurricanes have adopted the traits of Jaccob Slavin, their top defenseman.

Slavin isn’t a flashy offensive player. You would be easy to mistake Slavin for a middle-tier, home-based defender if you looked at his pedestrian counting stats, which include two goals and eleven points. Slavin — along with New York’s Adam Fox — is the best defensive defenseman in the league. He is the best player at suppressing two-on-one chances, it’s his best trait, and the Hurricanes can afford to take a few more risks in the offensive zone knowing they have a magic eraser on the blue line.

It’s a stretch to call Slavin underrated, as he’s made an All-Star team and was the Lady Byng recipient in 2021 but he’s certainly deserving of a larger audience. It’s truly remarkable he can avoid staying out of the box while being asked to suppress chances at an elite level.

Dimitri Filipovic of the PDOCast highlighted one clear-cut example of Slavin’s impact during Carolina’s recent winning streak. Florida’s Sam Bennett appears to be off to the races unimpeded on this play, looking to either roof a backhand shot into the corner, or switch to his forehand to deke the goalie. Slavin swoops in and swats the puck out of harm’s way in one fell swoop. It’s a play he routinely makes and it’s a personification of the Hurricanes’ attention to detail when suppressing chances.

After losing Dougie Hamilton, Carolina’s top defenseman, to New Jersey Devils in 2021. Carolina’s transition team has been stabilized by Brent Burns who is having another outstanding all-around year. Burns may have been cast off by the Sharks last July but he’s still among the game’s best offensive blueliners.

“I think the most impressive thing is he’s 37 and he’s like a 20-year-old — he wants to learn,” Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour said of Burns to The Athletic’s Cory Lavalette 23 November. “He knows he’s in the new system, he knows this. And he’s like, ‘Just give it to me. How do I learn to catch up?’”

Burns and Slavin have played the third-most minutes of any defense pairing at 5-on-5 and they’re crushing the competition. They have a 62.17% Corsi share, and a 60% share of the expected goals. It’s remarkable that this unit can post elite possession numbers, while facing massive volume.

Carolina’s second defense pairing of Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce has logged the fourth-most minutes at 5-on-5, and has been on the ice for 27 goals with 18 against. The continuity of Carolina’s top-four cannot be understated, and it’s a primary reason why the Hurricanes sit in pole position in the Metropolitan Division.

You cannot reasonably thrive in the modern NHL without great goaltending and Pyotr Kochetkov has been one of the league’s most pleasant surprises. We were first introduced Kochetkov challenged Boston’s Brad Marchand to a fight last summer. Marchand eventually gave in to Kochetkov. Kochetkov was once considered a joke or a third-string goalie who played above his true talent. Now, Kochetkov is the No. 1 designation and has been among the NHL’s best goalies.

Kochetkov posted a stellar average of 2.2 goals against the average with a.919 Save percentage and three shutouts. Kochetkov is 12th in goals saved over average per MoneyPuckThe cumulative metric is a measure of how many goals a goaltender saves relative to shot location. By itself, that statistic may not stand out, but remembering that it is a cumulative metric, the only goaltender with fewer starts within the top 12 is Minnesota’s Filip Gustavsson.

Andrei Svechnikov was named as the team’s All-Star selection this year, although that honor could easily have gone to Slavin or Martin Necas. Svechnikov is the Hurricanes’ most prolific player with 19 goals. Necas is the team’s leading scorer with 38 points. Slavin has been the Hurricanes’ most influential player with 38.

At this point, Svechnikov has become a well-known name. The 22-year-old can shoot the lights out, he’s a creative wizard in the offensive zone, he can sustain offensive play and the Hurricanes sport superior shot and expected goal differentials when he is on the ice — as is the case for Necas. Both players have been inseparable and accentuate each other’s strengths. They’re both great at getting into prime scoring locations. Svechnikov’s release is laser-like, and Necas has an enviable knack for picking corners.

Here is just one of several examples: it’s worth noting you could flip Svechnikov and Necas here and get the same result.

Max Pacioretty is back in the lineup too, adding another veritable top-six forward to a team that is leading the league’s shot parade. Pacioretty and Burns, as well as captain Jordan Staal will provide veteran leadership and resolve to a team that has failed to make the second round for consecutive years. This group has the talent and drive to wear teams out, they’re getting surplus goaltending, and the top two defensive pairs can grind opponents to a halt.

The Hurricanes aren’t the most enjoyable team to watch. And though they dominate the possession charts, they’re not necessarily going to shoot the lights out. They’ve built a brand of two-way responsibility while being one of the toughest outs in the league. They’re well-coached and they’ve made the key acquisitions that could get the core group over the proverbial hump.

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