Storm Tracking: Our version of hot

Despite 1 glaring weakness, the Hurricanes had a pretty successful week when you look at the stats.  They tied for 1st in Penalty Kill Percentage with 100%.  They were 2nd in the league with a 0.936 Save Percentage and tied for 2nd with 34 Takeaways.  Carolina was 3rd in Goals Against Average and top 10 in Shots Against, Hits, Blocks and Giveaways.  Their PP, Shots For and Faceoff Percentage only ranked average, but those numbers weren't bad.  The only category they failed in was one of the most important, Goals per Game.  1.50 Goals per Game ranked 29th in the league and simply will not get it done in the NHL.  There are just too many players that are in a funk right now, they and the coaching staff need to come up with a plan to put more goals on the board.  This team isn't great, but they have more talent that a goal a game.  Here are the stats for 12/31/14 through 1/6/15.

Canes Weekly Stats

Weekly Advanced Stats

The chart is arranged by the highest 5 on 5 Close Corsi For Percentage.

Here is a little key to some of my abbreviations. AS – All Situations, 5C – 5 on 5 Close, CF% - Corsi For Percentage, FF% - Fenwick For Percentage, SF% - Shots For Percentage, OZst% - Offensive Zone Start Percentage, NZst% - Neutral Zone Start Percentage and DZst% - Defensive Zone Start Percentage. If you would like more advanced statistics, this information was collected from www.war-on-ice.com.

Weekly Studs

Eric Staal – Say what you want about Eric Staal, he’s not a good leader, he doesn’t earn his contract, he pouts too much.  Whatever your opinion of him is, evidence still points to him being Carolina’s best and most dangerous offensive player.  He even won a game for the Canes in a shootout!  This week, he led the team in goals & points, was 2^nd in takeaways and 3^rd in shots on goal.  Whether it’s the switch to LW beside his brother, finally feeling 100% or just his typical new year charge, Eric is playing the way we expect him to play.  He’s looking more to put the puck on net and good things are happening for him.  The past week or two look a lot more like the Eric Staal from a couple years ago and the team needs that guy back.

Brad Malone – I chastised Malone last week for not providing much beyond hitting and he responded.  He scored his first goal as a Hurricane, added his first assist as a Hurricane and tied for the team lead in hits despite averaging less than 9 minutes a game.  I still don’t believe Malone is an everyday player, but he was quite useful this week.  And if Carolina eventually trades Jay McClement, Malone seems to have the faceoff ability to fill the 4^th line center role if necessary.  I guess it would be a downgrade, due to McClement’s PK ability, but we’re not exactly fighting for playoff position.

Jordan Staal –Jordan has only played in 4 games and the Canes haven’t scored more than 2 goals in any of those games, but he has made a difference.  He only has 2 assists on the season, but he has been solid in both ends of the ice and seems to have helped get his brother to another level.  Probably the most obvious difference he’s made though has been him parking his body in front of goalies.  You could argue that both PP goals against Nashville were due to Jordan, yet he didn’t register an assist on either.  This is a different team with Jordan in the lineup and while it isn’t enough to get the Canes over the edge, he definitely appears to be a key part of the future.

Weekly Duds

Jeff Skinner – Skinner continues to be mired in a slump and is not really doing much of anything to help the team out.  He’s not scoring, he’s hardly getting any pucks on net and continues to make wrong decisions in his own zone.  Jeff really could be the most talented player on this roster.  Watching him at times is simply magical and other times pure frustration.  Finding him the right line mates is extremely difficult and he his defensive zone play has never really progressed in his 5 years in the league.  The type of player he is, he’ll never be a great defensive player, but he needs to figure out how to get on the scoresheet on a more consistent basis.

Nathan Gerbe –Much like Skinner, Gerbe has been in a major offensive slump recently.  He has not registered a point in 8 games and his shot totals have taken a nice dip from earlier in the season.  Gerbe does other things on the ice and always seems to bring an A-level effort, but this team needs more from him.  This team is expecting him to be more than he is right now.  Gerbe currently has his worst goals per game average of his career while average the highest time on ice of his career.  Gerbe brings a lot to this team, but a new contract comes with expectations and he needs to break out of his scoring slump.

Zach Boychuk/Chris Terry/Michal Jordan – I know I probably catch some flak for this from the many people who wanted to give these guys NHL shots.  But I think we’re seeing why these players have spent so much of their pro careers in the AHL.  They have flashes that make you think they can put it together, but there is something that holds them back and consistency is never there.  Boychuk will likely be waived when someone comes back from injury and I believe he’ll make it through and back to Charlotte.  Terry will probably stay up with the big club due to his very high AHL salary, but he seems to be a situational player at best.  And MJ, he has heart, but I just don’t see this guy as a NHL player unless it’s an emergency situation and you don’t have any other options.  These guys speak to the Canes biggest problem over the years, a lack of depth.  They’re really good AHL players, but their games just don’t translate to the NHL.  That happens with players, but it seems more common in Carolina and I’m wondering if a change down in Charlotte is needed for our other prospects.

Weekly Team Stats

Former Canes Weekly Stats