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Another season is over and it's another disappointment for fans of the Carolina Hurricanes. The team finished with 83 points, good for seventh from the bottom of the league. Last season, the team finished with the fifth worst point total, 42 points in the 48 game mini-season, the equivalent of .878 points per game or 72 points in a normal 82 game season.
The owner of the Hurricanes might be thinking his team just needs a little tweak here and little tweak there to fix things, but in looking at how many points the Canes have earned over the past five years, it would seem they might need more than just tweaks.
| season | 09-10 | 10-11 | 11-12 | 12-13 | 13-14 | Total | |
| points | points | points | (points*) | points | points | ||
| 30 | Edmonton | 62 | 62 | 74 | 77 | 67 | 342 |
| 29 | Florida | 77 | 72 | 94 | 62 | 66 | 371 |
| 28 | Islanders | 79 | 73 | 79 | 94 | 79 | 404 |
| 27 | Carolina | 80 | 91 | 82 | 72 | 83 | 408 |
| 26 | Columbus | 79 | 81 | 65 | 94 | 93 | 412 |
| 25 | Winnipeg | 83 | 80 | 84 | 87 | 84 | 418 |
| 24 | Toronto | 74 | 85 | 80 | 95 | 84 | 418 |
| 23 | Buffalo | 100 | 96 | 89 | 82 | 52 | 419 |
| 22 | Calgary | 90 | 94 | 90 | 72 | 77 | 423 |
* equivalent point total for 82 game season
Has the team improved? Gotten worse? On the right path? To try to answer these questions, we need to look at some other stats.
Goals scored per game - 2.5
The team finished 22nd in the league and averaged scoring 2.5 goals per game. This was down from last year's 2.65 goals per game average, which was 14th best in the league.
Goals allowed per game - 2.76
This year's 2.76 per game average is a significant improvement from last year's 3.31 which was near the worst in the league. This season's number moved them to 19th in the league.
Shots per game - 31.2
The Canes averaged 31.2 shots per game which is the 9th highest in the league. That is down from last year's 32.2 average, which was third best in the league.
Shots allowed per game - 30.9
They allowed 30.9 shots per game, which is 21st most in the league. This is an improvement from last season's 32.2 average, which was 26th.
Powerplay percentage - 14.6%
This season's 14.6% put them at 28th best in the league and is the exact same percentage they had last year, which was 27th best at that time.
Penalty kill percentage - 81.7%
This season's 81.7% is a big improvement from last season's 77.6%. They moved up from 28th in the league to 17th with the increase.
Face off percentage - 52.6%
This year's 52.6% was good for fourth best in the league and is up from last season's 50.2%, which was 14th best in the league.
Blocked shots - 1096
The team blocked 1096 shots this season which was an average of 13.37 per game, good for 22nd in the league. Last year they blocked 667 shots in 48 games, a 13.9 per game average, which put them at 20th in the league.
Takeaways - 785
The Hurricanes led the entire NHL with 785 takeaways this season, a 9.6 per game average. Last year they averaged 8.9 per game and had a total of 426 takeaways, good for third best in the league.
Hits - 1807
Their 1807 hits gave them a 22 hits per game average, 18th in the league. Last season they had 1100 hits in 48 games, a 22.9 per game average, good for 17th in the league.
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While the team has been able to improve some of the team statistics, obviously it has not added up to enough wins on the ice, which is where it counts. Can they continue to improve and will it translate to more wins?