Hurricanes clinch playoff berth with goaltending, defenseman depth

The Carolina Hurricanes clinched a berth in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Thursday when they defeated the Buffalo Sabres 5-3.

The Hurricanes qualified for the playoffs for the fourth straight season after missing the postseason the previous nine.
With one of the most well-rounded teams in the NHL, Carolina (46-17-8) leads the Metropolitan Division with 100 points and is on pace for Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers records of 53 wins and 115 points. That would surpass Carolina's totals from 2005-06, when it went 52-22-8 (112 points) and won the Stanley Cup by defeating the Edmonton Oilers in seven games.
The Hurricanes will try again to take the next step in the postseason after reaching the 2019 Eastern Conference Final and being eliminated from the 2020 Eastern Conference First Round and the Stanley Cup Second Round last season.
Carolina is eighth in the NHL in goals per game (3.32), first in goals against per game (2.38), eighth on the power play (23.5 percent) and first on the penalty kill (88.0 percent).
Frederik Andersen is having a season worthy of consideration for the Vezina Trophy awarded to the top goalie in the NHL. The 32-year-old is tied for third in the NHL in wins (33-12-3), is first with a 2.07 goals-against average, is third with a .926 save percentage (minimum 16 games played) and tied for fourth with four shutouts.

Center Sebastian Aho is in position to lead the Hurricanes in points for the fifth straight season, scoring 71 (33 goals, 38 assists) in 68 games. Forward Andrei Svechnikov has scored an NHL career-high 27 goals and 62 points in 68 games.
Carolina has 11 players who have scored at least 10 goals: forwards Aho, Svechnikov, Nino Niederreiter (22), Teuvo Teravainen (19), Vincent Trocheck (18), Martin Necas (13), Seth Jarvis (13), Jesper Fast (12), Jesperi Kotkaniemi (11) and Jordan Staal (10), and defenseman Tony DeAngelo (10).
The Hurricanes further supplemented their scoring depth before the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline by acquiring forward Max Domi, who has scored 35 points (nine goals, 26 assists) in 61 games this season, from the Columbus Blue Jackets. He has three assists in seven games for Carolina.
Here is a look at the Hurricanes' path to a playoff berth:
Most Valuable Player:Aho has scored 30 goals for the third time in four seasons and leads Carolina forwards with an average of 19:02 in ice time. The 24-year-old plays in all situations. He's first among Hurricanes forwards in power-play ice time (3:05 per game) and second in shorthanded ice time (1:54 per game).
Unsung Hero:Jarvis is fourth on the Hurricanes with 12 goals at 5-on-5, behind Niederreiter (16), Svechnikov (14) and Aho (13), despite being 11th among forwards (minimum 10 games) in 5-on-5 ice time (12:15 per game) and playing 57 of 71 games. The rookie's 2.21 points at 5-on-5 per 60 minutes are fourth among Carolina forwards (minimum 10 games) behind Aho (2.29), Svechnikov (2.24) and Niederreiter (2.22).
Memorable Moment:The Hurricanes rallied from down 3-1 in the second period to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 on Nov. 3 and extend their season-opening winning streak to nine games. That matched the longest winning streak in Carolina/Hartford history and fell one short of the NHL record to begin a season. The run ended with a 5-2 loss to the Florida Panthers in the next game.

Key Number:169. The Hurricanes have allowed an NHL-low 169 goals in 71 games and are on pace to break their franchise record for fewest goals allowed in a full season (202 in 1998-99).
Question Mark:Goaltending. Andersen is having his best NHL season and could surpass his NHL career-high of 38 wins with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2017-18, but the 32-year-old needs to overcome his track record of playoff disappointments. Andersen has lost six straight postseason series since reaching the Western Conference Final with the Anaheim Ducks in 2015 (16-20, 2.60 GAA, .917 save percentage). That includes four Game 7 losses and a 3-0 loss in Game 5 of the best-of-5 Stanley Cup Qualifiers in 2020 with Toronto against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Reason Hurricanes Can Win It All: Carolina has been building toward this for four seasons, beginning with its run to the 2019 conference final before being swept by the Boston Bruins. It's time for the Hurricanes to take the lessons they've learned and break through. They have the tools to do it with a balanced offensive attack, depth at defenseman and one of the best structured teams in the NHL under coach Rod Brind'Amour.