Wow. December’s here already.
With two months of hockey under their belt, the Hurricanes’ 2023-24 campaign is starting to take shape. Carolina enters the final month of 2023 with a 13-8-1 record, good enough for second in the Metro division. A sample of size of 22 games is gracious plenty to start combing through some data to do what sports writers do best.
Count beans.
In all seriousness, there’s a lot of genuinely interesting stats that encapsulate Carolina’s season to this point. Without further ado, let’s dive into the most defining, surprising and intriguing numbers around the Hurricanes so far this year.
10 – Teuvo Teravainen’s team-leading goal total
If you had Teravainen picked to lead the Canes in goals at this point in the season, no you didn’t. Stop lying.
The 29-year-old Finn’s long held one of the most underrated shots in the entire NHL, but he’s really letting it rip this season to great effect. Teravainen’s 22.2% shooting percentage puts him in the 96th percentile among NHL forwards, speaking to his ability pick out the right opportunities and maximize his scoring output.
Teravainen’s cooled off a bit after an electric eight goals in the first 10 games, but having him atop the Canes’ goal leaderboard
2.93 – Pyotr Kochetkov’s GAA
Kochetkov’s number took a hit from the Canes’ 5-4 OT loss to the Islanders to finish November, but the young netminder still shows an impressive knack for keeping pucks out. He ranks in the 69th percentile for league-wide goals against average, speaking further to the nice job he’s done between the pipes.
Carolina’s goalie situation got thrown a curveball when a blood clotting issue suddenly took Freddie Andersen out indefinitely, announced by the team on Nov. 6. Kochetkov, along with Antti Raanta, has done a solid job keeping the Canes competitive despite some sparse defensive support in a few games.
The 24-year-old Kochetkov’s long been the goalie of the future for Carolina, but his 2023-24 campaign has him trending closer to becoming the goalie of the present.
75.3% – Canes’ penalty kill percentage
For a team that’s posted a PK percentage of at least 83% in each of the last four seasons, Carolina’s current performance on the penalty kill has been lackluster, to say the least.
Mental errors have been the Achilles heel of the Canes so far this season, and the penalty kill is a prime example. It’s not like Carolina allows a ton of opportunities for teams on the power play. In fact, the Hurricanes allow the fewest shots in the league while on the kill, letting up just 38.68 per 60 minutes.
But when teams do get shots off against the Canes PK, they make the most of it. Whether by missed assignments or failing to clear the puck thoroughly or just dumb puck luck, opposing teams score on 25% of their shots against the Hurricanes PK unit.
If Carolina wants to secure its fourth straight division title, the penalty kill will need to look more like its usual, stingy self.
23 – Rebounds created by Brent Burns
Burns hasn’t showed up on the score sheet much, but don’t let that fool you. The bearded veteran boasts a team-leading 23 rebounds created to consistently set up chances for his teammates up front.
That total nearly laps the next-highest on the roster. Fellow defensemen Jaccob Slavin and Brett Pesce both tally 12 created rebounds of their own, but Burns’ whopping 20+ sum leads the way by far.
Canes fans can expect Burns — who currently has five goals and five assists on the year — to eventually see a boost in point production as more of his blue-line blasts get redirected into the net or converted on the rebound.
94 – Combined PIM of Michael Bunting, Tony DeAngelo, Brendan Lemieux and Dmitry Orlov
“Sandpaper” was the theme of the offseason for Carolina and boy, did they find that in spades. The Canes’ four main offseason acquisitions account for nearly half of the team’s total penalty minutes, with everyone else combined logging 127.
Sure, that 94 figure is ballooned by multiple majors and game misconduct penalties, but the amount of penalties called tells a similar story: 23 of the 85 penalties called against Carolina this season were attributed to Bunting, DeAngelo, Lemieux or Orlov.
The new guys have put in a mixed bag of performances when they’re not in the penalty box. Bunting (more on him in a bit) and Orlov have settled in nicely as steady pieces of the lineup. Lemieux’s been the odd man of the forward group much of the time, but he’s produced solidly when he does take the ice. Tony DeAngelo is… still looking for that 2021-22 form he had in Carolina but hey, there’s still 60 games left in the season.
14 – Penalties drawn by Bunting
Sandpaper, grit, whatever you want to call it, Bunting’s style of play amounts to more than just some extra spice on the ice. His ability to get under opponents’ skin pays dividends by forcing them into mental errors and taking bad penalties, leading to more scoring chances for Carolina.
Bunting’s 14 drawn penalties leads all Canes players and amounts to the only Hurricane with double digits in that category.
46.8% – Canes’ offensive zone percentage (even strength)
If there’s one constant in Carolina’s games so far this season, it’s sticking to their game. The Canes’ commitment to racking up time in the offensive zone to pelt pucks at the net has them atop the league with 46.8% of their time spent in the O-zone.
Though the product hasn’t been as overwhelming positive as in the last few seasons, the Hurricanes’ confidence in their style of play hasn’t been shaken. Last night’s loss to the Isles served a prime example, with Rod Brind’Amour praising the team’s commitment to playing their game.
“You can’t do much better than that,” Brind’Amour said. “I’m really happy with the group. Fought right to the end. If we can play like that, we’re going to be in good shape.”