Monthly Performance Review: November

RALEIGH, NC. -The first full calendar month of the Hurricanes regular season is complete and the team has already passed the quarter mark of their 82-game schedule.
Time flies.

October was a month filled with franchise history for the club and the expecting of the team reaching this point with the same undefeated record, which would be 21-0-0, was simply not realistic.
However, it's not as if the world came crashing down and has anybody questioning whether the start was a fluke or not.
The team is now 15-5-1 and the team's head coach is already receiving league-wide recognition, being
voted as the frontrunner for the Jack Adams Award,
again, earlier this week.
Let's get down to business and recap the month that was:
Previous Monthly Reviews:
October:
8-0-0

The November Record:

7-5-1.
Does it look as sexy as October's 8-0-0? Of course not. But let's look at who the losses were to and how they happened:
Saturday, November 6 @ Florida: The Cats have established themselves as a beast in the Atlantic Division and have flirted with being the league's highest scoring team in the league all year. Carolina afforded them four power play opportunities in the first period and Florida made them pay. You can't do that against a team of that caliber and the Canes know that, but these things happen.
Friday, November 12 vs. Philadelphia:The Canes brought the house that night, but it was a 39-save performance by Carter Hart that was the deciding factor. Goaltenders have nights like this sometimes, what can you do?
Monday, November 22 @ San Jose:San Jose had an agenda - lock up their own zone and have two layers of shot blockers. It worked. They blocked as many shots as the Canes got through. Mind you, just like the Philadelphia game, the Canes only allowed two goals.
Wednesday, November 24 @ Seattle:Two nights later, same story. The Canes only allowed two goals and were on the wrong end of a 35-save performance. In this one Brind'Amour felt like his team didn't capitalize, but they quickly amended that before avenging their loss back in Philadelphia two days later with a six spot.
Sunday, November 28 vs. Washington:Like Florida, Washington has also established themselves as a real threat this year. Carolina trailed by a pair entering the third period, but battled back, showing great resolve once again. In the end it was penalty troubles that cost the team again, a very correctable mistake.
Tuesday, November 30 @ Dallas:Once again, an outsanding goaltending performance. The Canes had 40 shots on goal but Braden Holtby was able to keep 39 of them out, stymying the Carolina offense.
So, why did we just recap the losses? To summarize, each game had its own reasoning for the outcome, but in none of the games thus far this season could you say that the whole team was just flat out bad. Which might sound weird, but if you ask the other 31 head coaches around the league, most would likely say that their team has had at least one bad performance this season.

Defense And Goaltending

A common phrase started to pop up amongst opposing coaches over the last 30 days in regards to the Hurricanes play - "They don't give you much" with "they're hard to play against" coming in at a close second. Coaching staffs around the league have taken notice that playing this team is not a walk in the park.
The Canes have an Eastern Conference-low 47 goals allowed, bringing them to an average of 2.23 goals allowed per-game. That goes hand-in-hand with the team allowing just 27.6 shots-per-game, currently the fewest in the league.
Frederik Andersen has unfortunately suffered all five of the team's regulation losses, yet still comes in at seventh among all NHL goaltenders with his .928 save percentage (SV%) (min. five games played). Antti Raanta has gotten mixed in more throughout the month as well, bringing his record to 3-0-1 with a mere 2.36 goals against average (GAA). The club as a whole has only allowed four or more goals in four of their 21 games. Of those four, one of them (Florida) included a three power play goal performance.
It's become clear that the Canes are hard to beat at even strength and even when they do (Los Angeles), the team's firepower on offense can go toe-to-toe.

Tony DeAngelo

Signed to a one-year contract on July 28, the signing of DeAngelo was essentially a calculated gamble by Canes management. It's early, and the metaphorical bet slips have not been paid out yet, but all signs are pointing to it being a worthwhile move on the ice for the team. This time last month he had nine points in eight games, which was a nice start, but also just a note on the team's flawless eight-game unbeaten streak to start the season. Now that the team has experienced the taste of defeat, DeAngelo's production has remained consistent despite that, now bringing him into the conversation of the best offensive defensemen in the league thus far this season.
Prior to going on the NHL's COVID-19 Protocol list Monday, DeAngelo was leading the league's defensemen with his 13 even strength points. That's a massive accomplishment, especially considering that his offensive production had largely been associated with his efforts on the power play. Earlier this week, his 19 points in 19 games also had him ranked tied for third among all defensemen in the NHL. Further, he's accomplishing all of this while now ranking 130th among all blueliners in ice time. When the Hurricanes right side of their defense is all healthy, it has thrust itself into being regarded as one of the best in all of the game right now.

Miscellaneous High Notes:

A Quick Look Ahead:

December gives the Canes very little relief in terms of scheduling, with the club set to play basically every other day throughout the month. An even split of seven home games and seven road games will give the team a total of 14 contests between December 2 and 30, pending good health, of course. The string of games will be highlighted by the team's tour of Canada, which begins Tuesday, December 7 in Winnipeg and then takes them to Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver before stopping in Minnesota on the way back home.
After the team returns home from that trip, there will be plenty of good hockey matchups and promotions-filled fun for you to come see. Star Wars Night on Thursday, November 16 is sure to be a fun one. Then, to conclude the month, the team will have another chance at the Florida Panthers on Monday, December 27 and add the latest chapter to the heated series against Montreal on Thursday, November 30.
Worth A Click:
Blue Line Reinforcements: Chatfield and Lajoie
 Morrow Named To U.S. World Junior Championship Preliminary Roster