By: Sam Goldfarb
The Carolina Hurricanes’ landmark 2020-21 campaign reached a somewhat underwhelming
conclusion Tuesday night, as Head Coach Rod Brind’Amour’s side fell to the Tampa Bay
Lightning in the Second Round of the NHL Playoffs. Despite finishing the regular season atop
the Central Division standings and posting the league’s third-highest point tally (80), the ‘Canes
were ultimately bested by the defending Stanley Cup champs in five games, bowing out after
Tuesday’s frustrating, 2-0 defeat in the friendly confines of PNC Arena.
Facing absurdly unprecedented in-season circumstances, the Hurricanes enjoyed a spectacular
regular season, topping the newly established Central Division with a formidable 36-12-8 record.
Carolina was nearly unstoppable at home, winning 20 of their 28 games (20-3-5) in Raleigh as
they re-asserted themselves as a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. They rattled off three separate
five-plus game win streaks throughout the shortened season (the ‘Canes played just 56 games),
highlighted by eight straight victories between late-February and mid-March.
Carolina was fueled by its stifling defense. The Hurricane back line allowed just 136 total goals
all year (2.43 per game), posting the fourth-lowest tally in the NHL as it stymied some of the
league’s premier attacks. Additionally, despite Coach Brind’Amour embracing a three-man,
goalkeeper-by-committee approach, the ‘Canes managed to log six shutouts as a team. Primary
playoff starter Alex Nedeljkovic led the league in goals against average (1.90) and save
percentage (93.2%), doing so in a team-high 23 appearances.
However, the normally reliable Carolina attack ultimately faded against Tampa, as NHL wins
leader Andrei Vasilevskiy transformed into a complete brick wall between the pipes. The ‘Canes
found the back of the net 179 times in the regular season (10 th in the NHL) and bagged 22 goals
in a six-game First-Round showdown against the Nashville Predators, but with second-leading
goal-scorer Nino Niederreiter (20 goals, 14 assists in regular season) dealing with an upper body
injury for the bulk of the Tampa series, Sebastian Aho (only 1 goal and 3 assists) and company
beat the Lightning shot-stopper just nine times in the entire Second Round. Vasilevskiy capped
off a brilliant series (94% save rate in 5 games) with a 29-save shutout in Game 5, dooming the
Hurricanes to elimination despite their solid defensive efforts.
The Carolina Hurricanes will look to build on an impressive season in 2021-22, when the NHL
returns to a normal, October-through-June regular season schedule. They will first face some
notable front-office decisions, though, with three double-digit goal-scorers (Dougie Hamilton,
Andrei Svechnikov, and Warren Foegele) and two of their goalkeepers (James Reimer and Petr
Mrazek set to hit free agency.
