Carolina Hurricanes for Dummies & Game 1 Predictions
2021 Red Wing Division Rivals
Given the odd ending to the 2019/2020 NHL season, and the even odder playoffs that followed in the middle of the summer, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to many NHL fans across the globe that the 2020/2021 season will have its own complications and abnormalities.
A shortened season, only 56 games, pales in comparison on a scale of abnormality when compared to the new divisions that will dictate opponents and playoff chances for this season only. Most NHL executives remain optimistic that the 2021/2022 NHL season should feature a return to almost entirely normal.
In the meantime, new divisions mean new opponents. It wasn’t always the way, but fans have gotten used to the idea of their favorite team facing off against each team in the league on at least two occasions, with inner-conference and inner-division opponents and rivals being more frequent opponents.
This year, however, until teams make it relatively deep into the playoffs, teams will only face the other teams within their division. Being part of the Central division, Detroit will be facing off against the other seven teams (Carolina, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Florida, Nashville, Tampa Bay) eight times each throughout the season, with the top four teams in the Division at season’s end given a playoff berth.
Of the seven other teams in the division, only Florida and Tampa Bay join the Red Wings as familiar opponents from the Atlantic Division that Detroit has called home since the 2013/2014 NHL season. Given that’s it been ten months since Red Wings hockey, what does each new Divisional Rival have in store for Detroit?
Let’s take a deeper look in this brief series, Central Opponents for Dummies, starting with Detroit’s first opponent of the 2020/2021 season: The Carolina Hurricanes.
Carolina Hurricanes in a Nutshell
Hosting home games at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, the Carolina Hurricanes are one of the better up-and-coming teams in the NHL. Boasting a young and very talented core forward group, as well as one of the best defensive units in the league (also fairly young), the Hurricanes have now made the playoffs two consecutive years, including a deep run to the Conference Finals in 2018/2019.
All-time, Detroit still holds tightly to a winning record against the Hurricanes franchise, going 30-24-1 (0.55 W%) since the Hurricanes started their existence in 1997. It’s worth noting, despite the winning percentage for Detroit all-time, that the Red Wings have not defeated the Carolina Hurricanes since December 20th of 2018, including three consecutive losses since then.
Carolina Hurricanes Players to Watch
Andrei Svechnikov, brother of Detroit’s own Evgeny Svechnikov, is one of the very talented young core forwards within the Carolina organization. At just 19 years of age, he produced 24 goals and 37 assists, good for 61 points in just 68 games last year. The sky seems to be the limit with young Svechnikov.
The Hurricanes’ highest-paid player, Sebastian Aho, was the team leader in points during the 2019/2020 campaign, producing 38 goals and 28 assists for 66 points in 68 games. Another exclamation point for the “young core” of Carolina. And don’t forget, Aho is only 22 years of age.
The third very noteworthy forward is former Blackhawk Teuvo Teravainen. At just 25 years of age, he’s easy to include in the list of prominent young forwards within the Hurricanes organization.
He can also be added to the list of “Moves the Blackhawks sorely regret”, a list of which most Red Wings fans would thoroughly enjoy reading. “Turbo” produced 15 goals and 48 assists for 63 points, edging Svechnikov by 2 points for second on the team, during the 2019/2020 season.
Another very familiar face for Red Wings fans everywhere is netminder Petr Mrazek. While the starter in Carolina never seems exactly certain, including frequent (ill-advised) switches during the playoffs, Mrazek was the majority go-to-guy in 2019/2020, starting 38 of the team’s 68 games.
Mrazek won 21 of his 39 games played last year. With a 0.905% save percentage and 2.69 goals-against-average, Mrazek’s stats were fairly mediocre and somewhat consistent with his entire career. Wings fans will be familiar with Mrazek’s streakiness, where he either seems like the next coming of Dominik Hasek or has trouble stopping a beach-ball.
Detroit vs Carolina
Shoring-up with the prediction made in the 2021 Season Expectations article, a 3-3-2 record for the Red Wings against Carolina seems fairly reasonable, if not a tad optimistic. While it’s great to have the drive, determination, and a “chip on the shoulder” as many of the Wings’ young players do, those traits can only make up so much when Detroit lacks as much talent as the Hurricanes.
Forward Groups
The Hurricanes will have the edge in terms of offense. Their young core of forwards featuring Svechnikov, Teravainen, and Aho is only the tip of the iceberg, and something Detroit doesn’t have the skill (currently) to keep up with.
Defense
On the defensive end of things, Carolina’s advantage is even more clear. Their young defense should be seen as the envy of the league. Jake Gardiner is the oldest defensemen on the six-man unit at just 30 years of age, which should be considered fairly young for a defensemen.
Dougie Hamilton is an offensive force from the blue line while also being defensively reliable, especially given the right partner. Brady Skjei and Haydn Fleury are two very promising young defensemen who have solid performances nearly every night.
The highlight of the defensive unit, Brett Pesce and Jaccob Slavin, are both 26 years old and are two of the best defensemen in the league. They often make most pundit’s lists for top defensemen and are often near the top in almost every statistical defensive category.
Detroit has nothing to offer in competition for defense until Moritz Seider comes back from the SHL. Assuming Seider can make a quick transition and immediately fit in at a high-end NHL level, he and Hronek can get the ball rolling for a previously depleted defensive group for Detroit. Seider and Hronek alone, however, can’t make up for the skill and depth of Carolina’s defensive group.
Goaltending
The only category where Detroit truly has an edge is goaltending tandems. While Mrazek’s hot streaks put him (very shortly) in the conversation for the Vezina, his cold streaks cost the Hurricanes some games. Detroit's familiarity with Mrazek should help them exploit his weaknesses more often than not to help keep the series close to .500.
Overall
All-in-all, the Hurricanes are a fun team. Earning the moniker from Don "angry grandpa" Cherry as a "bunch of jerks", Carolina is young, fast, and hungry. Unlike Detroit, who has a similar group personality amongst the youngsters making their way in the organization, Carolina has an over-abundance of skill to go with the mentality. Every single game against them should be a fun watch even if Detroit can't pull out the W.
Game One
Tonight's Venue: Little Caesar's Arena
Carolina’s All-Time Record at Venue: 4-1
Season Series: 0-0-0
Goaltender DET: T. Greiss
(17 GP, 8-5-3, .922 S%, 2.57 GAA All-Time Against Carolina)
Goaltender CAR: P. Mrazek
(5 GP, 3-1-0, .900 S%, 2.70 GAA All-Time Against Detroit)
Odds and Predictions for Detroit Red Wings vs Carolina Hurricanes 1-14-2021
DraftKings Odds: DET +185 CAR -220
Players to watch (DET): D. Larkin, F. Zadina, A. Mantha
Players to watch (CAR): D. Hamilton, A. Svechnikov, S. Aho
Jesse's Prediction: 4-3 Carolina Hurricanes
Matt's Prediction: 3-2 Detroit Red Wings
Mike's Prediction: Red Wings
