The new year is here, and with it comes teams hitting the 40 game mark. We are at the halfway point of the NHL season. Now we are starting to get a real picture of how good these teams are. Some teams can also more or less be ruled out of the playoffs. The first three teams to play their 40th game did so on New Year's Eve. Up first, here's the Carolina Hurricanes.
Carolina Hurricanes: 13-21-6, good for 32 points:
The Hurricanes got off to a slow start, and they never really found their footing. They fired their head coach, and now they sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Sure, the Islanders also have 32 points, but they have played only 36 games right now. Their minus-32 goal differential is worst in the East and third worst in the league, and they have a mere four wins on the road. The main problem? The second worst goals against average in the league.
Eric Staal, who got off to a bad start to the season, has picked it up a bit. He now has 25 points to lead the team, but he has a minus-22 rating. However, if Jeff Skinner had been able to play all season, he'd probably lead the team. He has 24 points in 30 games. Tuomo Ruutu leads the team with 14 goals. Only Skinner and Ruutu have double digit goals. In net, Cam Ward has really struggled. He's been busy, sure, but a .896 SV% is awful.
You can probably write off the Hurricanes now. There is pretty much no chance they'll make the postseason. They have the talent to right the ship a bit, as they did a couple seasons ago, but that will only take them so far. It is shaping up to be a majorly disappointing season for Carolina.
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