That’s what the Carolina Hurricanes have done, though, recovering from a 3-0 deficit during the first period and a 3-1 score at the end of the second period against Florida on Wednesday and coming back from a 2-0 deficit at the second break in Atlanta Thursday night.

Amazingly, they were the first two times the ‘Canes had won this season when trailing at the second intermission, and they cap off the Hurricanes first three-game winning streak of the season; all three wins having come on the road. Carolina actually has managed to earn a point in four games in a row, despite scoring not a single goal in the first period in any game.

Through six games in December, including five games away from Raleigh, the ‘Canes have earned nine of 12 possible points and pulled within four points of a playoff spot with as many as four games in hand (fewer games played) over other teams within the top eight.

Player-by-Player Breakdown

Despite being pulled less than two minutes into the game against Florida, Cam Ward has been the Hurricanes’ best player during the stretch, stopping 28 of 29 shots (96.6 percent) on December 10th vs. Dallas, 38 of 39 (97.4 percent) on December 11th in St. Louis, and a whopping 45 of 47 (95.7 percent) this past Thursday against the Thrashers.

For the year, Ward is 10th with 10 wins, sixth with 1,473 minutes on the ice, seventh with a .925 save percentage, and third with 776 saves to date.

Carolina’s defense has also been improving. After giving up three or more goals nine out of 14 games between October 20 and November 13, a brutal stretch that prompted GM Jim Rutherford to go out and trade problematic defenseman Anton Babchuk to Calgary for gritty ‘D’-man Ian White, they’ve really stiffened up as of late.

In terms of scoring, team captain Eric Staal has been pulling away from the pack. He has 13 goals (tied for 20th in the league) and 30 total points, ranking 25th. Staal also leads the team in powerplay goals (four), shorthanded goals (one, Patrick Dwyer scored the other), and game-winning goals (three). He stopped a four-game scoreless skid with two points the last two games.

Eight points behind him is Jeff Skinner, who continues to impress, leading all rookies in points with 22 and assists with 14. He recorded two assists in Wednesday’s win in BankAtlantic Center.

Just trailing Skinner is Jussi Jokinen with 21 points and Tuomo Ruutu with 20. The two have combined for six game-winning goals, and two more shootout-deciding ones, this season. While Jokinen has not scored a goal in eight straight games, an uncharacteristic streak for him, his fellow Finn has two goals, two assists, and a plus-two rating the past three games and continues to lead all ‘Canes in hits with 110, ranking third in the NHL.

Also from Finland is Joni Pitkanen, who leads all Hurricanes defensemen with 17 points, 15 of them being assists, and has rebounded from last year’s minus-11 total to currently place second on the team in +/- at plus-six and first on the squad in blocked shots with 55.

The only other player beating Pitkanen in +/- is Brandon Sutter, who’s having another fine season after last year’s 21-goal performance. Sutter, who’s cousin Brett recently entered the Carolina organization during the Babchuk-for-White deal, has seven goals, 12 points, and a plus-nine rating.

Also placing well in the +/- game, which was a problem for the ‘Canes last year, are Sergei Samsonov (plus-three; last season: minus-15), who won the shootout in Atlanta on his first attempt of the season, Erik Cole (plus-four; last season: minus-nine), who got the ‘Canes comeback against the Panthers started, and Jamie McBain (plus-five), who scored his first goal of the season against Florida.

The former-Ducks duo of Ryan Carter, who was acquired in a trade for Stephan Chaput, and Troy Bodie, who was claimed off waivers, that have begun to make up the previously-nonexistant checking line have also been solid lately, combining for three points and a plus-three rating over their last five games. Bodie, on his own, made quite a statement Thursday, engaging in a rather intense fight defending Skinner, who was being pushed around.
Analyzing the Numbers

Despite some subtle improvements, the Hurricanes continue to be incredibly awful at faceoffs. They sit at 41.6 percent as a whole, Staal and Sutter, the top two faceoff-takers, coming it at 44.2 percent and 41.1 percent, respectively. The team is dead last by over three percent, as they have been for quite a long time.

The ‘Canes are also near the bottom of the league in terms of outshooting their opponents (only 10 times have they done that) and scoring first (only 12 times). They should start doing it more, though. They are a respectable 6-4-0 when outshooting opponents and a very impressive 10-0-2 when scoring first, compared to 4-12-2 when allowing the first goal.

Carolina continues to be very disciplined as a team, taking an average of only 10 penalty minutes a game, the fourth-lowest total, while drawing the eighth-most powerplay opportunities. The special teams, a year-in, year-out issue, do continue to waste the advantage, though.

The powerplay jumped up to 18th following a 3-for-3 effort November 26th in Boston, but has now slipped to 25th and rank second in powerplay opportunities squandered. The penalty kill is even worse, as it’s still ranked 27th despite some recent improvement.

The team has been fairly good in some other categories. They’re 13th in takeaways, 22nd in giveaways (it’s good to be lowly ranked in that regard), and 10th in hits, a remarkable statistic considering the ‘Canes are the second-lightest and second-shortest team in the NHL.

Until the past week, shootout have been a problem. The team had lost four shootouts in a row since winning their first one in just their second overall game, specialist Jussi Jokinen hadn’t scored on an attempt since November 19, 2009, and another specialist Patrick O’Sullivan was claimed off waivers by Minnesota. However, the Hurricanes experience in them (they’ve been to a league-leading seven total, six of which having come in their last 12 games) has finally paid off, as they won their last two against St. Louis and Atlanta, with Jokinen scoring in both.

Injury Update

After a dreadfully injury-filled early ’09-’10 season, the Hurricanes have been very healthy this fall, with just eight man-games lost due to injury. That’s an astounding number compared to most teams.

They have fallen a little off their guard lately, though. Bryan Rodney was called up for the most recent back-to-back after Jay Harrison went down with a short-term injury, and with Jiri Tlusty now injured for up to two weeks, Zach Boychuk was recalled for his much-delayed season debut.

Charlotte Checkers Check-In

After a slow start, the Hurricanes AHL affiliate has settled in in their new home, posting an 11-3-1 record since November 6th. They’ve reached or topped three goals 11 of those 14 games, and put up a jaw-dropping 10 goals in one contest on December 6th against Syracuse.

The Checkers are 15-9-4 overall, totaling up to 34 points (two more than the ‘Canes, for that matter, with two fewer games played). Those numbers put them in third in the eight-team East Division, sixth overall in the Eastern Conference, and 13th in the league.

Zach Boychuk leads in the team in overall points with 32 in 28 games, tied for the second-most in the AHL. Samson is 11th in the league and second on the team with 29, also leading the team with 15 goals, while other team leaders Chris Terry and Oskar Osala have 24 and 23 points, respectively. The surprise of the year, so far, is Jacob McFlikier, who has 13 goals, 24 points, and a team-leading plus-12 rating.

Charlotte has also been solid defending the net, as Mike Murphy and Justin Pogge have split the starts with 15 each. Murphy is 8-4-2 with a 2.69 goals-against average and .917 save percentage while Pogge is 7-6-1 with a 2.84 goals-against average and .915 save percentage.

If those statistics don’t interest you enough, though, you can always check out this  hilarious commercial made by Checkers players Michal Jordan, Mike Murphy, and Riley Nash.

Upcoming Schedule

Carolina will return home to the RBC Center today to take on Anaheim (17-14-4) for their first home game in over two weeks. They’ll visit Tampa Bay (17-10-4) next Monday for their first meeting against the divisional opponent in a must-watch game, then come back to Raleigh two days before Christmas to meet up against with Montreal (19-11-2).

In January, the Hurricanes will finally get to spend a little more time at home while they play eight of their next 13 after the turn of the year in the state’s capital.

While there is still a lot ahead for this young Hurricanes team, it’s clear that great goaltending from Ward, a balanced offense, and a defense that’s beginning to find an identity is really helping Carolina climb back into the playoff race much earlier than usual.

Cheers for the holidays, Caniacs, and let’s hope the Hurricanes can keep coming back in the third period like they did this week.

They might just have found it in a very well-advised trade today with the Calgary Flames.

Both teams have struggled as of late. The ‘Canes have been outscored by a combined score of 15-3 over their last two games and have given up 60 goals on the year, tied for second-most among all Eastern Conference teams. Meanwhile, Calgary has lost six of their last seven games and have quickly fallen nine points behind Northwest Division-leading Vancouver.

However, the trade, in which the Flames send defenseman Ian White and left winger Brett Sutter to Carolina in exchange for defenseman Anton Babchuk and right winger Tom Kostopoulos, might have positive outcomes for both teams.

Carolina will get a major defensive boost with 26-year-old Ian White. White had played three seasons with Toronto going into last year, scoring 73 points with a plus-five rating, fairly good for a bottom-feeder team like the Leafs. After putting up 26 points and a plus-one rating in 56 games last season for Toronto, he was traded to the Flames in a major trade deadline deal that send Dion Phaneuf to the Maple Leafs.

White was equally impressive in Calgary, scoring 12 points with a plus-seven rating in 27 games to close out the season with the Flames, who barely missed out on the playoffs. However, partially due to his struggles in his first 16 games this year (two goals, four assists, and a minus-10 rating), he’s now headed to Carolina to hopefully take over a role as a top-four defenseman.

Also headed to the Hurricanes organization is Brent Sutter, who is leaving his father Darryl Sutter, GM of the Flames and, ironically, the person who traded him, but joining his brother Brandon Sutter, who currently plays on the second line for the ‘Canes.

‘Brett’, as he might need to be called, since “B Sutter” won’t work, will come to Carolina still in the system. He has played just four games this season and 14 in his career at the NHL level, where he has one goal, one assist, 12 penalty minutes, and a minus-four rating. He did have 24 points in 66 games for AHL Abbotsford last season.

Brett, age 23, is actually over two years older than brother Brandon, but Brandon has already played a full NHL season, putting up 21 goals and 40 points in 71 games last year for Carolina with only two penalty minutes. Brett will be joining two other Brett’s in AHL Charlotte, Brett Carson (who was recalled to fill Babchuk’s role tonight) and Brett Bellemore, and should be among the top players there.

On the other hand, Calgary also receives what they need. The Flames will earn around $0.9 million in cap space (according to Cap Geek) with the deal, a much needed move considering they were over $5.5 million over the salary cap before the deal.

Additionally, they will receive two experienced NHL’ers to add to the roster. Babchuk, the bigger acquisition, is only 25 and has already found his blue-line scoring touch.

The Russian had 16 goals, 19 assists, and a plus-13 rating in 2008-2009 for Carolina, including nine powerplay scores, but then left for a year in the KHL. This season, he has just three goals and five assists and a minus-four rating, including a miserable minus-seven in his past five games. He should fit right in in Calgary’s varied defensive unit.

Tom Kostopoulos, the only veteran player in the trade at age 31, can also become a reliable fourth-line winger for the Flames. He’s never scored more than nine goals or 22 points in a single season, but the gritty forward is certainly not afraid to stand up for teammates and has seemingly become more consistent as the years go by, playing his first full season last year.

In addition to the 82 games played, Kostopoulos added eight goals, 13 assists, a team-leading plus-four rating, and 106 PIM for Carolina. With the trade, he will continue his career-long streak of never playing more than 152 games with a single franchise before departing. This is his seventh full season and his fifth team (previously were Carolina, Montreal, Los Angeles, and Pittsburgh).

While none of the four exchanged players will play in Carolina’s game against Ottawa or Calgary’s game against Phoenix tonight, obviously, they will all make their debuts with their new teams Friday night as the ‘Canes play the ‘Pens and the Flames take on the ‘Hawks; the past two Stanley Cup Champions.

Looking deeper, the deal seems to be a good move by both GM’s for each of their respective struggling teams. While it’s fairly even from a neutral standpoint, there’s no reason for fans of either team to feel at all disappointed with the outcome.

One of the players is Eric Staal, the ‘Canes current captain, and a former 100-point scorer, Stanley Cup Champion, and NHL All-Star Game MVP. Of anyone on the Hurricanes‘ current roster, Staal would be the most expectable choice for team leading scorer.

The other player, Jeff Skinner, is just the opposite. Only 18 years old, he was the seventh overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, and a surprising one and that, considering he was ranked far lower than seventh and the ‘Canes were supposed to be looking for a defenseman.

However, he’s already had an eventful NHL career. In only 15 games, he’s scored the Hurricanes only shootout goal of the year (in their only shootout), became the youngest player to ever score a goal for the Hurricanes, averaged a point per game, and his 15 points are a nearly double the second-highest scoring rookie (Edmonton‘s Jordan Eberle, who has eight points).

Staal and Skinner have been only two pieces in an unpredictable yet welcomed scoring explosion this fall for Carolina. Although the Hurricanes were a decent 13th in the league last year, averaging 2.76 goals per game, they’re fifth this season, averaging 3.13 to date. Even some of the Hurricanes most underachieving players from a year ago are contributing in big ways.

Some of those under-performers include aging Sergei Samsonov, who is tied for third on the team with four goals, sixth with eight points, and fourth with a plus-three rating; Erik Cole, who has four goals and nine points with a team-leading plus-eight rating; and also Brandon Sutter, a 2009-2010 breakout who’s keeping the pace going with eight points and a plus-six rating.

You could consider Tuomo Ruutu, who’s overcome a position switch to center to record nine points and contribute much  more on defense than he has in years past, including leading the team with 56 hits (23 more than second-place Tom Kostopoulos). Additionally, the newly re-discovered top defensive pairing and powerplay duo of Joe Corvo and Joni Pitkanen has begun to bring out the best in both, as they have five goals, nine assists, and a plus-one rating between them.

Analyzing the Statistics

After winning both games in NHL Premiere Helsinki, Carolina went on a long road trip primarily on the West Coast. When they returned for their home opener October 27th, they were 5-4-0, a long way from the beginning of the previous season when they didn’t win their first road game until December.

However, two shutouts in their first two home games (albeit to East Coast dynasties Washington and Pittsburgh) severely dampened the spirits. Lately, though, they’ve revived the hometown crowd with three consecutive victories in the RBC Center, including racking up seven goals in two of the three games. Two seven-goal games is a claim they only share with the Capitals so far this season, and the ‘Canes are the only team to have done it both times at home too.

Carolina has also taken 32.6 shots per game, the 8th most of 30 teams. However, they’ve allowed 34.4 per game, which is fourth-most. It’s been a good thing Cam Ward has been there to handle the blow: His 450 saves are second-most among goaltenders and his .920 save percentage is 11th.

Another good sign for the Hurricanes is their discipline. They have the second-fewest penalty minutes per game in the NHL and are tied for the fewest majors with only three. They’ve also drawn the second-most penalties by opposing teams with 73 power play opportunities already.

Unfortunately, after a decent start to the year, the Hurricanes special teams units found themselves in a slump for several weeks and proved much of the team’s good marks in discipline to be worthless. They have begun to find some life again, though.

In the 7-1 win last Tuesday over Edmonton, Carolina had three powerplay goals while killing all four Oilers power plays. Still, the ‘Canes are 18th in the league in power play (15.1%) and 21st in penalty kill (80.7%).

By the statistics, it also appears that the ‘Canes are struggling late in games, as they’ve outscored opponents 32 to 25 in the first two periods but have been outscored 20 to 14 in the third period this season. However, their late-game struggles have still not cost them yet, as the Hurricanes have been impeccable once they’ve gotten the lead: They’re 4-0 when leading after the first period, 6-0 when leading after the second, and 6-0 when scoring first.

On the other hand, Carolina has yet to show that they can recover from early deficits. They are 2-7 when they give up the first goal, 1-5 when trailing after the first period, and a miserable 0-6 when needing a rally in the third period.

An even bigger issue for the team, though, is the face off winning percentage that hovers at a dastardly 38.9%. Not only is that worst in the league, but it’s worst in the league by a long shot: The second-worst is Edmonton with a 44.8 winning percentage.

The departure of face off master Rod Brind’Amour certainly hurt, but it was supposed to be Eric Staal that would become the next reliable ” face off man”. He hasn’t filled that role, winning only 132 of his 324 attempts, a 40.7 percentage. Furthermore, secondary face off players Tuomo Ruutu (61 for 147, 41.5%) and Brandon Sutter (80 for 225, 35.6%) haven’t been any better.

Several times in early Carolina Hurricanes Team Reports back in October, I mentioned that the Hurricanes were struggling in their takeaway/giveaway ratio, too. They’ve managed to drastically improve that over the past few weeks, thankfully, as their giveaway total has dropped to a withstandable 14th-most while they’ve recorded the seventh-most takeaways, a welcome statistic.

A Few More Thoughts

While I think the team as a whole has been strong through the first month, I think some of the lineup and team management decisions have been poor.

The first thing that jumps to mind is the coaching staff’s stubbornness to give Patrick O’Sullivan any significant ice time. GM Jim Rutherford made a marvelous move late in the off-season to sign the former second-round draft pick and 50-point scorer for a very small sum.

However, he’s been a healthy scratch in eight games already while only playing in seven, and he’s averaged less than 10 minutes of ice time in each, still managing to score a goal (and a fancy one at that). Meanwhile, the coaches have been opting for prospects like Zac Dalpe, Drayson Bowman, and Jiri Tlusty instead, who have three points combined and have been practically invisible.

Another complain I have considers defenseman Jay Harrison. Why did they ever sign the guy, much less to a one-way contract?

He’s a 28-year-old who’s never played anything close to a full NHL season, and that has been evident as he’s made poor, stupid decisions one after another after another, forcing Cam Ward to bail him out time and time again. His 20 penalty minutes are tops on the team, too, perhaps because he’s often forced to trip, interfere, or slash the guy who just blew past him.

Upcoming Schedule

Carolina has won three of their last four games (oddly, the only locally televised game out of those four was the only loss), but they’ve going to continue to be tested in the upcoming weeks. They are about to begin an eight-game stretch against 2009-2010 playoff teams, including two games against top-seed Washington.

The ‘Canes will then get Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday off again before hosting Washington (11-4-1, 4-3-0 on the road) on Wednesday, November 24th and visiting Boston (8-3-1, 2-2-1 at home) two days later. They will then close out the month with an at home game against the Capitals the following Sunday and then on the road against the Stars (8-5-0, 5-3-0 at home) just 24 hours later.

Closing Thoughts

Perhaps it would be good to leave the pressure off of him for now, but Jeff Skinner has been undeniably spectacular in his first month of NHL action. He’s on pace for 33 goals and 49 assists for the season, an 82-point year. That would put him over 30 points ahead of the second-place rookie in total points and over 25 points higher than last season’s top-scoring rookie, Colorado‘s Matt Duchene.

Indeed, the 2010-2011 NHL season is still very young, and it’s mighty early to make projections like that. But with a player like Jeff Skinner on your team, who could resist doing it?!

Their mediocre record is misleading, however. In fact, the ‘Canes are off to a very promising start considering that they are starting four rookies, led by a 27-year-old captain, are the fourth-youngest team in the league and have not yet played a game within a 650-mile radius of the RBC Center.

Their two franchise cornerstones, center and captain Eric Staal and goaltender Cam Ward, have stepped up and taken leading roles as the Hurricanes move through a brutal opening stretch.

Staal, who was held without a point in the ‘Canes two NHL Premiere games, now has three goals—one short-handed—and three assists in his last four games. Ward, on the other hand, holds a 3-2-0 record with a .923 save percentage even though he’s been tested plenty, having faced an average of 36.2 shots per game so far.

Carolina is also getting a great effort from some unexpected players. First-round draft pick Jeff Skinner has been very impressive, notching one goal, three assists and a shootout winner as well. Erik Cole, who played just 40 games last season due to several nagging injuries, has also come out of the gate strong, scoring once and adding three assists and a plus-four rating.

Additionally, Chad LaRose, a perennial underperformer, has found his place lately, scoring two goals and two assists in this week’s back-to-back. Now that he has found his typical chemistry with Eric Staal again, look for LaRose, who’s already 27, to have a breakout year.

Anton Babchuk, who was in Russia during last year’s disappointing campaign, is back and firing away too, with three points. He has also improved his defense, with a plus-two rating and 13 blocked shots, good for second on the team.

In fact, while players like Cole, LaRose, and Babchuk continue to show signs of an upcoming breakout year, the ‘Canes group of rookies are also standing tall. Skinner, Jamie McBain, Zac Dalpe and Drayson Bowman have combined for seven points and a plus-five rating.

To be truthful, the whole team has looked quite solid through their first two weeks. Twelve different players have already recorded their first goal of the season, a good sign for the offense that they can trust on production from everyone. The team has been very willing to block shots in their own zone—they are ranked 7th in that category with 95 total—and to force puck turnovers.

However, they need to improve rapidly in three main categories. The first and most glaring is special teams, a common struggle for the Hurricanes.

So far, Carolina has scored on just three of 27 power-play attempts. That’s a measly 11.1 percent conversion rate (19th in the league) despite having the seventh-most opportunities.

On the flip side, the penalty kill is even worse, having given up seven goals on 28 chances, a 75.0 percent kill rate (26th in the NHL). One way to improve that statistic, however, is to stop taking so many penalties, as they are sixth out of 30 teams in number of power plays surrendered.

The second major issue occurs in the faceoff circle. Although the retirement of longtime faceoff superstar Rod Brind’Amour was bound to hurt, the Hurricanes’ pathetic 37.1 winning percentage in faceoffs is absolutely inexcusable.

That number is more than three whole percentage points lower than the second-worst team (Edmonton, at 40.2%) and more than seven percentage points lower than the third-worst team (the New York Rangers, at 44.4%).

The third and final problem that is readily apparent through the first six games is unforced turnovers, i.e. giveaways. Carolina is tied for fifth in the NHL in that statistic, having already handed over 58 possessions to the opponent, with wrapping paper and a bow included. They aren’t nearly making up for those mistakes by creating takeaways, either—the ‘Canes have just 36 of those.

After the Hurricanes seven-game road trip to begin the year ends Saturday night in Phoenix, they will return home for the first time. Unfortunately, though, that doesn’t mean the schedule gets any easier. They will open up in Raleigh with a game against rival Washington and, after one day off, play a back-to-back against the Rangers and Penguins before a match in Philadelphia two days after that.

In order for Carolina to make it through the stretch alive, they will need to keep doing what they’ve done so far, in addition to making some big strides in power play, penalty killing, faceoffs and limiting giveaways. 

Still, there’s very little to worry about so far. The first few concerns over this season’s Hurricanes squad have been answered nicely…the next tests, though, may be even harder than the first few.

Mike Fisher scored twice for the Senators (1-2-1) and Brian Elliot made 19 of 21 saves after replacing injured Pascal Leclaire just two minutes in to lead Ottawa to their first victory of the season.

After a fluky goal to open the scoring late in the first period, unassisted to Mike Fisher, Milan Michalek scored on a beautiful passing play from captain Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza to make it 2-0.

The Hurricanes (2-1-0) answered back with two goals in less than two minutes in the middle of the final period. Eric Staal had the primary assist on the first goal, a chip shot from Sergei Samsonov, who was a game-time decision, and scored the second to tie it, his first two points of the season

Seventh overall draft pick Jeff Skinner earned the second assist on Staal’s tally, adding to his growing collection of accolades including another assist and a shootout-winning goal in the ‘Canes two games in NHL Premiere Helsinki.

However, the Senators weren’t done yet. Another goal by Mike Fisher at 14:06 put Ottawa ahead once again, and this time for good. Fisher’s goal, just past the mid-way point of a double-minor penalty, was Ottawa’s first powerplay conversion of the season, after beginning the year 0-for-18.

Despite recieving the loss, Cam Ward was still solid, stopping 36 of 39 in goal.

Carolina hasn’t begun the year with three wins in their first four games in seven years, but they will have a chance to break that streak Sunday night in Vancouver, where they’ll take on the Canucks at 9 PM ET in newly-named Rogers Arena.

And, as the back-to-back concluded Friday afternoon, they achieved exactly what they were looking for.

With a 2-1 shootout victory over the Minnesota Wild to back up their 4-3 win over the Wild the day before, Carolina returns to North America leading the league in points. While it’s still a little premature to say that means much, leading the league was certainly something the ‘Canes never got to experience last season.

The Hurricanes came through in Game One after holding on in the closing minutes. After Brandon Sutter scored the Hurricanes’ first goal of the season with seconds remaining in the first period, tying the game at 1-1, Anton Babchuk gave Carolina their first lead of the season just minutes into the second. Although former Hurricane Matt Cullen again knotted the score soon after, late-period goals by Brandon Sutter, yet again, and Jussi Jokinen put the Hurricanes up 4-2 at the break.

A conservative, quiet third period kept the score like that until Brent Burns found the back of the net with less than three and a half minutes remaining. The Wild continued to push as the clock wound down, but several tries with six attackers were stopped by Cam Ward in the final minutes, allowing the Hurricanes to hold on for the victory.

In Game Two, the scoreboard wasn’t quite as active, also the tempers were. A long, entertaining fight between Tom Kostopoulos and Eric Nystrom, and several other multiple-player scuffles, were the only highlights through the first 17 minutes until veteran Andrew Burnette broke the ice late in the first period with a powerplay goal.

Tuomo Ruutu answered back early in the next period, though, on an assist from seventh-overall draft pick Jeff Skinner, his first NHL point. The score remained tied throughout the rest of regulation, although only because of several crucial penalty kills for the Wild.

Once in overtime, the two teams continued their conservative ways, but in the closing seconds, a breakaway for Mikku Koivu led to a scramble that could’ve ended the game in Minnesota’s favor. Nonetheless, it was inevitable for such a tight game to be settled in the ever-controversial shootout.

Much to the surprise of fans and experts alike, young 18-year-old Jeff Skinner was up first in the shootout. However, the move payed off perfectly, as Skinner pulled a beautiful move on Niklas Backstrom and easily scored. Five saved attempts later and the Carolina Hurricanes were 2-0.

In addition to the results, the ‘Canes showed plenty of good signs in almost all parts of their game.

Both Jeff Skinner and Brandon Sutter, two of the ‘Canes most potential-filled young stars, played excellently. Jussi Jokinen, the the team leader in goals from last year, also started strong, recording a goal and two assists in the two games.

Also, for now, not one player has a negative +/- rating. While Tim Gleason leads the team at just plus-two, the fact that every other player is either even or at plus-one is a very good sign, considering that 16 of the 27 players that played at least one NHL game last season for Carolina finished the year with a negative rating.

Cam Ward’s solid play was also a good omen for the future. After allowing six goals in less than two games to begin the ’09-’10 campaign, a season where he also only played 47 games (and had only 18 wins) due to two separate long-term injuries, Ward looked like his Conn Smythe-self this week.

Letting in only four goals on 71 shots (and just one goal on 54 shots at even strength) during the back-to-back (a .944 save percentage), as well as stopping 41 of 42 in Friday’s match, should not only keep the goals allowed total down, but keep pressure off the defensive (to do his job for him) and offensive (not as many goals needed to win) units.

However, the unusual environment also exposed some issues the Hurricanes need to work on in the upcoming week until their next game.

The clear first issue is faceoffs. With the retiring of faceoff king Rod Brind’Amour, the ‘Canes suffered mightily in that regard, winning just 55 of 152 (36.2) against Koivu and Co. from Minnesota. Captain Eric Staal was especially miserable in the faceoff circle, losing nearly every single attempt.

Another problem was their play without possession. The ‘Canes were out-hit in the two games by a combined 46-38 margin, with 16 of the Wild’s 46 hits coming from either Cal Clutterbuck or Eric Nystrom, and recorded just seven takeaways to Minnesota’s 16. The Hurricanes’ bad play there was evened out by the fact that the Wild made 16 unforced turnovers compared the ‘Canes measly four, but teams like Pittsburgh or Washington might not make that make that many mistakes with the puck.

The ‘Canes can now return to their home continent feeling good about their victories, but still knowing where improvements can be made. As they will have six days off until their next game, Thursday, October 14th in Ottawa, it’s not a bad guess to expect that these issues will most certainly be addressed thoroughly in practice.

In the meantime, though, it must feel good for the Hurricanes to be in first place, for once.

Hopefully, they can get off to a better start than last year, where the Hurricanes were last in the league for much of the first half of the season.

However, with a younger, fresher, and more talented roster composed of usual team veterans as well as the best new prospects from the nearly-done training camp, Carolina should finally be poised to start quickly out of the gate.

While this offseason wasn’t a headline-generating one for GM Jim Rutherford and the Hurricanes franchise, the perfect moves were done to give this 2010 ‘Canes team a completely new look going into this season.

A plethora of draft picks collected through several Trade Deadline deals last spring were used to add even more prospects to the farm system, as well as fill a needed center position with seventh overall draft pick Jeff Skinner.

There were also several smart trades and signings over the summer to fill in the few gaps left.

As we grow closer to the NHL season opener on Oct. 7, a game the Hurricanes will play in, Carolina will have come from one of the oldest teams in the league at this point last year to the fifth youngest out of 30 teams.

Five players starting from Day One will be two-way contract holders beginning their first full NHL season.

However, the inexperience of this team may not be a harmful thing. Other than Skinner, all of these players have spent years developing at the AHL level, and have battled through a competitive training camp (which began with 29 players and 17 true contenders fighting for eight remaining roster spots) to rightfully earn a chance.

With that said, this year’s Carolina Hurricanes complete season preview will begin with a recap of the offseason changes that took place in Raleigh.

That will be followed by a breakdown of each unit (forwards, defensemen, and goaltenders.

There will also be a brief preview for the Charlotte Checkers, the ‘Canes new AHL affiliate, a month-by-month schedule analysis, and, lastly, three keys to success for the Hurricanes in the upcoming season.

Offseason Changes

Re-Signings: D Zach Fitzgerald, RW Jerome Samson, LW Jiri Tlusty, G Justin Peters, LW Nicholas Blanchard, D Casey Borer, RW Nick Dodge, D Bryan Rodney, G Justin Pogge, D Brett Carson

Only one of these contracts were either one-way deals and not one amounted to a cap hit more than $600,000, just further demonstrating the lack of activity in Carolina this summer.

All of these re-signed players have also already been assigned to begin the year at the AHL level except for Brett Carson, who’s a likely candidate to be on the plane to Europe, Jiri Tlusty, who’s one-way deal was a bit shocking, and goalies Justin Peters and Justin Pogge, who are engaged in a last-minute battle for the backup position behind Cam Ward.

Other notable names on this list include Jerome Samson, who led the ‘Canes AHLers and finished third in the league in points last season, and Bryan Rodney, who played 22 NHL games last season at age 25 but was surprisingly sent to the minors, another victim of the added competition.

Departures: C Rod Brind’Amour (retired), LW Ray Whitney (signed by Coyotes), D Brian Pothier (not re-signed), D Alexandre Picard (signed by Canadiens), G Manny Legace (not re-signed), C Michael Ryan (not-resigned), RW Steven Goertzen (not-resigned)

The losses list here appears longer than it really is.

Rod Brind’Amour’s options at the end of last season were clear, based on his play (and horrible +/- ratings) over the past several seasons; retire, or be bought out.

Thankfully, he chose to keep his pride and just retire. The gap he left as the fourth-line center will be filled easily, too.

Ray Whitney, on the other hand, will be missed. Although he was a major name being tossed around at last March’s trade deadline and was an expected departure, his 58 points and veteran leadership (as an assistant captain) will be missed.

Besides them, Legace was simply an injury fill-in last season, Pothier and Picard were just trade deadline dump-offs on the already-eliminated Hurricanes and had no long-term plans here, injury-prone 30-year-old Michael Ryan had worn out his welcome in the AHL, and Steven Goertzen played his first and last year in Carolina last season.

Additions: C Jeff Skinner (through NHL draft), C Jon Matsumoto (trade from Flyers), D Bobby Sanguinetti (trade from Rangers), C Riley Nash (trade from Oilers), D Anton Babchuk (signed from KHL), D Joe Corvo (signed from Capitals), C Patrick O’Sullivan (signed from Oilers)

In addition to drafting Jeff Skinner with their first-round pick to add another competitor to the biggest training camp competition, center, the ‘Canes were also active traders on the second day of the draft.

Prospects Jon Matsumoto, Bobby Sanguinetti, and Riley Nash were acquired from their respective teams, all of whom (especially Sanguinetti, who could start in the first game) should see some NHL action this upcoming season.

Jim Rutherford also brought several former players back. Defenders Anton Babchuk, who led the league in powerplay goals by defensemen with the ‘Canes in 2008-2009, and Joe Corvo, who had become a fan favorite and top-pairing offensive defensemen in his three partial seasons with the Hurricanes, are both returning.

A late signing was also Patrick O’Sullivan, who will attempt to revitalize his sputtering career in Carolina like many others have done (see Samsonov, Sergei; Ruutu, Tuomo; Jokinen, Jussi; Pitkanen, Joni).

Positional Analysis

Forwards

A very youthful group of forwards for the ‘Canes should be an interesting unit to watch. With the one-way contracts dealt out for the upcoming season, this is how the depth chart, at a glance, could look:

LW Jussi Jokinen - C Eric Staal – RW Erik Cole

LW Tuomo Ruutu - C Brandon Sutter – RW Chad LaRose

LW Jiri Tlusty -      ???     - RW Tom Kostopoulos

???    -       ???      -       ???

Although let it be known that that projected depth chart above is a very basic outline, as, with the new players filling in the “???” positions, the coaching staff suggests shifting some of the more veteran players to take on the more-defensively challenging center positions.

However, given that those eight players are pretty much guaranteed of a spot based on their one-way contracts, the competition during training camp was mostly for the three remaining spots, and that battle is drawing to a close.

Superstar and new team captain Eric Staal will lead a young yet potential-laden group of forwards for the first time this season, due to Brind’Amour’s departure to the team staff. The 26-year-old will also be the oldest of the four.

Staal, who has reached the 70-point plateau for five straight years, failed to hit the 30-goal milestone last season for the first time since ’03-’04, but you can’t forget his 128 combined (regular season and playoffs) points during the ‘Canes Stanley Cup year.

He will be backed up by 2009 breakout star Brandon Sutter, who had just six points in 50 games for his career before exploding for 21 goals and 19 assists in 72 appearances last season.

The 21-year-old center, newly named an assistant captain, is the latest star in a hockey family and could quickly become a household name around the hockey world.

The third- and fourth-line slots, though, are more or less in question. If another more experienced player, such as Jussi Jokinen, who has been discussed, doesn’t move over to fill the hole, it will be left to either Patrick O’Sullivan, who’s once-heralded career needs a new spark, Jeff Skinner, who has never even played an AHL game, Patrick Dwyer, who did play 58 games last season, or Zac Dalpe, who’s stayed under the radar throughout training camp.

Patrick O’Sullivan is the safest bet of the foursome, as he has 280 NHL games under his belt, more than four times the other three combined, and did top 50 points in Los Angeles

However, last year in Edmonton was dreadful, with just 34 points and a league-worst minus-35 rating, and he could use a clean slate to start again. For more on that, read a previous article of mine.

Jeff Skinner, who left his OHL team to try for a spot, has the reputation to take the other slot, but Patrick Dwyer won’t be pleased with that, as the Hurricanes displayed their confidence in him in ’09-’10, allowing him to see ice time in 58 games, where he recorded seven goals and five assists.

Zac Dalpe is the biggest longshot, but, as a second-round pick in 2008, he has more experience in hockey than his eight career AHL games may suggest.

On the wings, just two more positions are open, and those may end up being filled by the losers of the competition of centers.

Sergei Samsonov, who was considered a potential buyout this offseason after scoring 29 points at a $2.5 million cap hit last year, will start the season on injured reserve with a neck issue.

Jiri Tlusty, additionally, just controversially signed his first one-way contract this offseason despite only 92 career NHL games and some off-the-ice problems in Toronto.

Those factors identify the left side as a weak point, but hopefully multi-threat Tuomo Ruutu and Jussi “The Juice” Jokinen can hold up the unit.

Ruutu played just 54 games last season due to a season-ending injury in January during a fight with Colorado‘s Darcy Tucker, one of the nastiest player rivalries in the league, but still had 35 points, which had him on pace to match his 54-point, 26-goal campaign in 2008-2009.

Conversely, Jokinen missed just one game last year and topped the ‘Canes with 30 goals, in addition to 35 more assists. That total was well over twice as much as his measly 27 points the previous year, when he was acquired for practically nothing near the trade deadline.

With those two solid studs holding up the left side, the opposite position on the right will be left to an underperforming duo in Erik Cole and Chad LaRose as well as gritty veteran Tom Kostopoulos.

Both of the former two, Cole and LaRose, have shown that they are well below average for their position unless paired with Eric Staal.

LaRose, especially, proved this last spring when he scored 11 of his 28 total points during the last seven games of the season while paired with Staal.

Cole, on the other hand, played just 40 games last season due to a back injury and had a minus-nine rating and just 16 points, only one more than his total in 17 with the ‘Canes in late ’08-’09.

Kostopoulos was fairly consistent in his first season in Carolina, playing all 82 games with 21 points, 106 PIM as a result of his willingness to fight, playing a significant role killing penalties, and tied for third in +/-, all for less than $1.0 million.

Drayson Bowman is the one prospect winger taking the plane to Europe, although that doesn’t secure him a spot. Bowman scored twice in nine games of his NHL debut last March, and had 32 points in 59 AHL games.

Another winger, former first round draft pick Zach Boychuk, was expected to be a definite to start out the season at the NHL level for the first time this season, but was surprisingly sent to the minors after an “inconsistent” (quote from Jim Rutherford) camp.

With a youthful group of forwards such as these, it’s very important that the ‘Canes score plenty of goals in their first games to build confidence among their first-time starters.

In addition to Skinner, Dwyer, Bowman, and Dalpe, who hope to have a place on the team come Thursday, the development of several other players who haven’t lived up to their potential is important.

A production boost from right wing is crucial, as well as another world-class season from Eric Staal, who is quickly becoming the clear centerpiece of the team. Hopefully, though, the entire team can be relied on to create goals often.

Defense

Joe Corvo   -   Joni Pitkanen

Tim Gleason   -   Anton Babchuk

Jay Harrison   -   ???

The re-arrivals of Corvo and Babchuk will greatly aid the defensive corps for Carolina, but another player could be an even bigger factor.

Rookie Jamie McBain, who was spectacular in last spring’s NHL stint, is one of the best up-and-coming defensemen in the league, and should play a major role in this year’s defense despite the lack of a one-way deal.

McBain, a second round draft pick in 2006, had 10 points and a plus-six rating, leading the team for the season, in 14 NHL games last season. He also led the AHL defense with 40 points and a plus-11 rating in 68 games during his first season there.

Although the spot left open is in the final pairing, which would put him alongside the ‘Canes other possibly ill-advised one-way contract signing of the summer, which went to longtime injury replacement Jay Harrison, McBain could easily work his way all the way to the top in just a few weeks.

That could be a tough task, though, considering the likes of players he’d have to overtake. Joe Corvo, as mentioned in the “additions” section, can be invincible when he’s on his stride, and his combination with Joni Pitkanen creates a fearsome offensive threat from the back end. Pitkanen, still just age 27, had six goals and a whopping 40 assists this past year.

Tim Gleason, recently appointed assistant captain, certainly deserves the title. Gleason is a team player to the bone, not afraid to stand up for opponents, and is also arguably the best ‘Canes defender in their own end.

The 2010 Olympian for Team USA had a career high in goals this past season with five, but that’s certainly not the strength of his game, as he had 149 hits and 115 blocked shots in just 61 appearances.

Anton Babchuk, who has a rocket from the ‘point’ but not much of a defensive game, and Harrison, who played 33 games last season for six points, a minus-eight rating, and 67 hits, will likely make up the lowest combination.

Lastly, Bobby Sanguinetti, formerly of the Rangers, will fight for playing time despite only six career NHL games. The 22-year-old may need some more work before he can succeed in the NHL, but he can’t be overlooked.

Goaltending

Attempting to put a streaky, injury-filled 2009-2010 year behind him will be franchise cornerstone Cam Ward, who put up a miserable 18-23-5 record last season.

However, some of those losses can be blamed on a shaky team around him, as his .916 save percentage matched his statistic the previous year, when the ‘Canes went to the Eastern Conference Finals.

He should be seeing more appearances, too, with a healthy back and more durable defense that won’t let in so many shots. The goals-against average, in turn, should also decrease, as it swelled to 2.69 in ’08-’09.

The ‘Canes also will have a better long-term option behind Ward than Manny Legace from last year, no matter who that long-term player will be.

Justin Peters showed flashes of brilliance as he went 6-3-0 filling in for Ward last season and also pitched a 32-save shutout in his one preseason appearance in September of this calendar year, but apparently Pogge, who’s flip-flopped around minor league teams for years, has equal promise in the eyes of the ‘Canes staff.

Charlotte Checkers (AHL) Preview

In 2010-2011, the Charlotte Checkers will play their first season under the Hurricanes franchise after the ‘Canes affiliation shifted away from the Albany (NY) River Rats. Their season will begin October 15th against Wilkes-Barre, the Penguins‘ minor league team.

The forwards will be led by aforementioned Zach Boychuk, who had 38 points in 52 games, and Jerome Samson, who led the team with 78 points in 74 games. Recent trade additions Jon Matsumoto and Riley Nash will also get high-profile roles as they search for an NHL call-up, and Oskar Osala and Jared Staal, Eric’s brother, will secure the wings.

On defense, an inexperienced group will be headlined by recent big-name signees Kyle Lawson and Michal Jordan, as well as Bryan Rodney, who played 22 games in the NHL last season and also recorded 35 points in 54 games from the Rats’ blueline.

The goaltending will be composed of a top-class pairing of Mike Murphy and the loser of the Peters-Pogge battle.

The Checkers will open with two home games on Friday and Sunday and then embark on a five-game road trip to finish out October, with November beginning with 10 of the first 11 games at home, including their first game against the defending AHL champion Hershey Bears.

2010-2011 Schedule Analysis

After a seven game trip away from the RBC Center to start the season, the rest of the year should be packed with home games. However, the remaining part of the season won’t be without its twists, turns, and scheduling oddities. The following analysis, taken from another previous article, will take each month one-by-one to break down the ‘Canes upcoming season:

Early October will be a time full of many openers for the ‘Canes. They will begin the season with a back-to-back in Helsinki, Finland against the Minnesota Wild on Oct. 7-8, part of the 2010 NHL Premiere event.

They’ll return for their North American opener in Ottawa on October 14. Carolina will make their United States 2010-2011 debut five days later in San Jose, and then finally have their home opener on the 27th against rival Washington after a four-game West Coast run visiting the Canucks, Sharks, Kings, and Coyotes.

October will finish up its 10 games with a back-to-back, taking the ‘Canes to Madison Square Garden on the 29th and then back to Raleigh to host the Penguins on the 30th.

The month actually will be one of the quieter ones. October’s 10 games are the least of any full month, compared to 14 in November, January, and March.

November will open up with a bang just two nights later as Carolina travels to Philadelphia to take on the defending Eastern Conference Champions.

On the 3rd, the ‘Canes will begin a stretch where they’ll have seven of ten games in the RBC Center, including a rematch of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals when they host Edmonton on the 9th.

The beginning of December will also bring a strange stretch of three consecutive back-to-backs, which also encompasses a five-game road trip following a game against Colorado in Raleigh on Dec. 3.

In that stretch will be a road date in Nashville, the final Western Conference team (along with Minnesota and Dallas) that Carolina will play twice.

The trip finishes up in Atlanta for the first meeting of six between the Thrashers and Hurricanes, beginning the annual rivalry.

Carolina will have three games during Christmas week, visiting Tampa Bay on the 20th, hosting Montreal on the 23rd, and then staying home for Washington on the 26th. Following yet another of the 21 back-to-backs the Hurricanes will play this season, the ‘Canes will then kick off 2011 with a game against the Devils in Raleigh on Jan. 1.

A Jan. 13 game in Buffalo will make the Sabres the last of the 14 other Eastern Conference teams to begin their four-game season series with the Hurricanes. The two teams will play each other three times in March and April.

Boston will visit the Carolinas on Jan. 18 for the back end of a home-and-home between the two opponents, the last of five matinee games over the course of the year.

Following the five-day All-Star Game break, once the excitement of the event dies down in Raleigh, the ‘Canes will finish their first four-game series of the season, playing the Bruins again on Feb. 1.

From the 8th to the 16th, the ‘Canes will embark on yet another five-game road swing, visiting Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, and New Jersey twice.

Once they return from that “vacation,” the Hurricanes will have their longest homestand of the season (four games) to get back to normal. The Flyers, Rangers, Pens, and most notably the Devils will be the opponents.

The game against New Jersey on the 19th will be the third game between the two sides in just 11 days, and will also finish out the season series.

Just before the trade deadline, the Hurricanes will get their one and only try in Chicago to defeat the defending Stanley Cup Champion Blackhawks, who did fall to the ‘Canes 4-2 in their one hookup last season.

On March 11, Carolina will resume their interrupted six-game set with the Capitals, who they met four times in the fall but had not played since the day after Christmas.

For the final 12 games of the year, including the match with Ottawa, eight of them will be in the RBC Center, hopefully giving the Hurricanes a convenient chance to finish strong.

The middle six games will also be the second of two stretches of three straight back-to-back matches, including the final game against rival Washington on March 29th.

After hosting the Red Wings for the first time in almost three calendar years, Carolina will play the 81st and 82nd games of their 82-game regular season with a inner-division back-to-back, playing in Atlanta on April 8th and then hosting the Lightning on April 9.

Five Keys To Success In 2010-2011

As the start of the season grows closer, it’s clear that the Hurricanes have some key things that need to happen if they want to really improve from last season’s disaster.

Before last year, I pointed out in my season preview three other things that needed to happen: powerplay success, solid Cam Ward, and a productive fourth line.

As it turned out, the powerplay dropped from 18th to 22nd, Cam Ward only played 40 games and struggled from time to time, and injuries and Rod Brind’Amour’s continued decline hit the fourth line hard.

So, with that in mind, here are five crucial points that could be important if they not only want to improve from last year, but compete for the playoffs.

1. Cam Ward and Eric Staal Returning to Stardom: Both franchise keystones saw a drop in their play last season. Can Ward and Staal make ’10-’11 the year they both return to their former All-Star-worthy seasons?

2. A Physical, Defensively-Sound Defense: Last season, the Hurricanes were fourth out of 30 teams in total team hits, 10th in blocked shots, eighth in takeaways, and but ninth-highest in shots allowed.

To maintain those relatively good statistics, and perhaps even improve on the shots allowed, would be huge for the team and Cam Ward, who needs to be brought back to being the starter on his own slowly.

3. Special Teams Improvement: The Hurricanes haven’t been awful in special teams lately, but they certainly have left something to be desired.

Since their Stanley Cup victory, the four seasons since, beginning in ’06-’07, have not had the best powerplays, as their overall rankings as a team, 25th, 18th, 18th, and 22nd, respectively, are easily in the bottom third of the league.

The same is true for the penalty kill, where they have been 26th, 19th, and 19th over the past three seasons. Improve here, henceforth, is vital.

4. A Quick Start to the Season: The Hurricanes will start with seven games on the road, but then return with six out of the next nine in Raleigh.

If the ‘Canes can make it to the homestand with no major injuries (Samsonov will also probably be back in the lineup by that point) and a winning record, it should really help build confidence in some of the younger players on the team, which could be absolutely necessary if the injury bug decides to strike again.

5. Success by the Charlotte Checkers: A talented, winning AHL team will also go a long way in doing what I mentioned above, although it will be motivating the players looking for a call-up, instead.

The added competition could drive the two-way contract holders who are holding an NHL spot, as well as some of the less-talented one-way contract holders, like Jiri Tlusty and Jay Harrison, to play even better.

With a lineup as young and unproven as the one the Hurricanes have now, they know  there are plenty of key points, as discussed above, that need to happen quickly. However, they know they have the talent to do it.

That’s why I have the ‘Canes finishing eighth in the Eastern Conference and third in the Southeast Division with 89 points, good enough for the playoffs and perhaps for an exciting first-round matchup with the rival Washington Capitals.

Although that is clearly a confident prediction, compared to other experts, it’s obvious that they can do it. And we’ll begin to see how close they already are to that goal just this Thursday in Helsinki.

The team signed 25-year-old center Patrick O’Sullivan to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal will pay him $600,000 at the NHL level and just over $100,000 at the AHL level.

While Carolina General Manager Jim Rutherford indicated that O’Sullivan “has the ability to reach [the 20-goal mark] again”, O’Sullivan will enter training camp next week as just another face in a talented group of prospects fighting for the position, including newly-acquired Jon Matsumoto and Riley Nash, seventh-overall draft pick Jeff Skinner, 2009 injury fill-in Patrick Dwyer, and AHL “veteran” Zac Dalpe.

O’Sullivan will certainly have no guarantees of a spot. However, all the facts are pointed in the right direction for his chances not only to make the team, but to truly legitimize the Hurricanes’ final group of centers, already anchored by Eric Staal and Brandon Sutter.

First of all, out of the possible prospects that could fill the third- and fourth-line positions, only Patrick Dwyer has more than five games of NHL experience under his belt. Additionally, while he may have 71 appearances worth of experience, his performance was simply mediocre (13 points, minus-5 rating) in those games.

On the other side, O’Sullivan has 281 games already in hand, and a relatively good statistical resume to go along with it.

After scoring 19 points in 44 games for Los Angeles in 2006-2007, his first full season in ’07-’08 was a spectacular one for O’Sullivan, as he totaled 22 goals, including three shorthanded, and 53 points in a full 82 games while playing with the last-place Kings. His point total was good enough for fourth on the team.

The first impression was also enough for O’Sullivan to earn a spot on the United States teams in the Ice Hockey World Championships, where he had six points in seven games.

Unfortunately, the next season saw a slight decline for O’Sullivan. He continued on the same pace until the trade deadline, where he found himself with 37 points (14 goals) and a plus-one rating through 62 games played. However, following his trade to Edmonton (the same one that brought Erik Cole back to Carolina and sent Justin Williams to Los Angeles), his production dropped to just six points and a minus-seven rating in 19 games.

This past year, conversely, O’Sullivan took a major plunge into the cellar of the NHL. Sure, his bad luck continued (once again, only this time with Edmonton, his team finished in last place), but, although the 34 points in 73 games wasn’t awful, but his shooting percentage dropped to a wasteful 5.4, and his cringe-enducing minus-35 rating was by far the worst in the league.

O’Sullivan’s struggles were enough for Edmonton to buy out his contract, which would’ve charged the Oilers a $2.925 million cap hit next season, with one year remaining. O’Sullivan stayed out of work for over three and half months until today’s signing.

Thankfully, though, he is taking a major pay cut. O’Sullivan is no longer regarded as a great up-and-coming player and former second-round pick, and the Hurricanes may just have found a diamond in the rough. The expectations have dissipated for him, and O’Sullivan can begin training camp with a new mindset and a new team, in addition to the value of three seasons of experience to build on.

A second reason for O’Sullivan’s potential dividends lie in his childhood, as the North Carolina native spent the first eight years of his life within two hours of Raleigh. Until today, O’Sullivan had only played in the system of three western franchises (Minnesota, Los Angeles, and Edmonton), and perhaps a return to the East Coast will create a more comfortable environment.

A similar trend has certainly become common for the Hurricanes even with players not born in the region, actually. Quite a few of the ‘Canes current one-way contract holders, such as Tuomo Ruutu, Sergei Samsonov, Jussi Jokinen, and Joni Pitkanen, once had careers given up for dead by other teams.

O’Sullivan could also benefit from the fact that he’s now with a better team than he’s ever played for, although Carolina is certainly no dynasty. The Oilers won the Western Conference in 2006-2007, and the Kings recorded 101 points this past season, but O’Sullivan has been with both teams during the wrong time.

Playing with other young teammates and a few more superstars, as well, could give an unexpected boost to his play.

With these encouraging factors in mind, it is truly possible that O’Sullivan can fill the “missing piece” role in the Hurricanes lower lines, who struggled to score last season.

If O’Sullivan does indeed begin the season as the no. 3 center, general estimates could predict a slight rebound season, projecting him to finish in the 40-45 point range with a push towards 20 goals likely.

However, he has the capabilities to go even farther than that. A career breakthrough 65-70 point season is within his grasp, and if the ‘Canes can cater towards his skills, they could use him along with Staal and Sutter to create one of the best one-two-three center punches in the league.

And, even if O’Sullivan doesn’t burst out for a career-best season, he can always be counted on to be a solid weapon in shootouts.

For the Hurricanes, who scored on only nine of 31 shootout attempts last season, 21st in the NHL, a major debate was who the third player would be to complement Jussi Jokinen and Tuomo Ruutu during the shootouts. O’Sullivan can easily fill that role, as he’s also done for both Edmonton and Los Angeles. He has 12 goals in his 29 career attempts and was 4-for-11 last year, a respectable percentage to say the least.

In more than a few ways, O’Sullivan has proven in short periods before that he has the talent to become a household name in the world of hockey, and his new contract with Carolina gives him a great opportunity to showcase that for a small price to the team.

Whether it’s on the ice or in a shootout, Patrick O’Sullivan’s signing could pay huge dividends for the Carolina Hurricanes in 2010-2011.

Mark Jones is currently Bleacher Report’s featured columnist and community leader for the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes . In his two years so far with the site, he has written over 225 articles and received over 195,000 total reads.

Visit his profile to read more, or follow him on Twitter .

After falling to the eventual-champion Minnesota Wild 2-1 in their opening game, Carolina recovered quickly, winning a last-second 1-0 thriller over the New York Rangers’ prospects and then finishing off the first round play with a 8-1 demolishing of Columbus.

The third place game against the Tampa Bay Lightning was another exciting affair, as both teams were tied 3-3 both after the end of regulation and the end of the first four-minute 4-on-4 overtime. Then, the ‘Canes and ‘Bolts got the try out the new test theory of a 3-on-3 overtime, and seventh-overall draft pick Jeff Skinner scored to seal the game midway through.

Skinner was one of many prospects that impressed the Hurricanes’ staff greatly during the Traverse City. The Canada native had two goals and five assists to lead Carolina with seven points, while Matt Kennedy had six points and three scores to lead the team in goals. Zac Dalpe and Jared Staal, who will soon be fighting it out for an NHL gig, also combined for seven points.

Skinner stunned both AHL-coach Jack Daniels and Hurricanes’ general manager Jim Rutherford with his precision, as Rutherford noted afterwards that Skinner was “…the best player on the ice” and is “a guy with a really good chance at making the team [this season]“.

Newly-signed defensemen Kyle Lawson and Michal Jordan led the blueliners, combining for three points and an impressive plus-six combined rating in four games. Recent draftees Austin Levi and Tyler Stahl also made good showings in the defensive end along with high-potential prospect Rasmus Rissanen.

In goal, Mike Murphy, the ‘Canes new AHL starter, played soundly, winning two of three games with a .963 save percentage, stopping 77 of 80 shots, and one shutout.

While much of the experience gained in this tournament will be put towards developing the plethora of highly-touted prospects in the Hurricanes’ farm system, many of the headlining players from the Traverse City team are among the 46 players invited to the Hurricanes’ NHL training camp, and several of them could have a good shot at the starting job.

Center should be the biggest position of note, as Jeff Skinner has decided to try for the team, in addition to some other worthy candidates in Jon Matsumoto, Patrick Dwyer, Riley Nash, Zac Dalpe, and newly-signed Patrick O’Sullivan, who has three consecutive 30-plus point NHL seasons under his belt.

Due in a major way to their impressive performances at the Traverse City tournament, a few unlikely prospects have also been invited in, such as defensemen Rasmus Rissanen and Kyle Lawson and forwards Matt Kennedy and Mike McKenzie, who is coming straight from the ECHL.

The preseason will begin Tuesday against Florida, and will be followed by a back-to-back-back from Thursday to Saturday, with two road games against Nashville and Atlanta and another home contest against the Predators. The Hurricanes training-camp roster will then play at Florida again the next Wednesday and finish with their European send-off game against Atlanta on the first of October.

With such a solid performance at the Traverse City tournament building confidence and creating a glimpse of what could be to come for this talented young Hurricanes group, there’s no doubt that anticipation is building, not only for the preseason beginning next week, but for the start of the regular season, too.

That team, the Carolina Hurricanes, had begun the year dreadfully, just one season removed from a run to the Eastern Conference Finals. The ‘Canes were currently posting a miserable 10-27-7 record with just two measly wins away from the RBC Center. Further downgrading the outlook was the fact that Carolina had the second oldest average age out of all 30 NHL teams at 29.2.

But now well over seven months later, the Carolina Hurricanes are just a shell of their former over-their-prime roster.

Today, the new seventh youngest team is preparing for training camp with just 15 players signed to a one-way contract, leaving five spots available for prospects to earn during the preseason. While the ‘Canes still have nearly $12 million in cap space to work with, allowing for plenty of mid-season flexibility, the 2010-2011 Hurricanes have ridded themselves of much of the age weighing down their youth movement.

There are a number of youngsters already having secured a spot on the opening day roster. Jiri Tlusty, 22, and Brandon Sutter, 21, have both signed their first one-way deals this offseason, as well as 28-year-old former AHLer Jay Harrison.

Also this offseason, 40-year-old former team captain Rod Brind’Amour retired, accepting a staff position but replacing his declining former role with a new slot available for a prospect. 39-year-old Ray Whitney also signed with Phoenix, and while his departure may still hurt, this year was a good time for it to happen. 

Those two over-the-hill players will join a number of other “veterans” who were shipped off at the March 3 NHL Trade Deadline, a collection including Matt Cullen, Aaron Ward, Stephane Yelle, and Andrew Alberts.

The prospects taking their places are still yet to be determined, but the battles will not be beginning without a lack of competition.

Prospect forwards Zach Boychuk, Patrick Dwyer, Jonathan Matsumoto, Riley Nash, Oskar Osala, Drayson Bowman, Jerome Samson, Jared Staal, Zac Dalpe, and Chris Terry will all be hoping for a chance to see some NHL action this season, and defensemen Jamie McBain, Brett Carson, Bryan Rodney, Bobby Sanguinetti, and Casey Borer will also be hoping for the same thing.

However, with a crowd like that and only five spots available, many of them will, at the least, not be making an appearance on Opening Day (which, for the Hurricanes, will happen in Finland). It will only be the best of the best that will see themselves filling a starting role for the first time of their career, and with the amount of talent on the waiting list behind them, they will need to remain the best of the best during their NHL tenures.

But we can’t get ahead of ourselves; training camp might be just around the corner, but it hasn’t even started. Everything is still up for grabs, and that “everything” is truly everything…even finding the top candidates to be the future faces of the Carolina Hurricanes franchise.

And thankfully, the ‘Canes have at least a few players who could very well fill that role someday.

Three Rookies To Watch For

To start with, I’m considering “rookies” as players who have never played more than 20 NHL games in a season. That criteria eliminates prospects Zach Boychuk, Patrick Dwyer, Brett Carson, and Bryan Rodney.

However, even with those four included, the elite three of the Hurricanes latest class of up-and-comers are still the ones mentioned here.

Without doubt, the first of the three has to be aggressive defenseman phenom Jamie McBain.

Last summer at this time, McBain was the new kid in Albany. After spending the previous two years with the University of Wisconsin hockey program, recording 42 points in 71 games and impressing scouts with his awareness and balanced talent, the American had played only 10 games with the Albany River Rats (‘Canes former AHL affiliate, now the Charlotte Checkers) at the end of the ’08-’09 season.

McBain had recorded just two points and an ugly minus-seven rating, but coaches still had high hopes for the future. While there wasn’t a lot of previous success by McBain backing up that promise, he certainly proved over the next five months that he had the skills to excell on any level.

During last season, McBain recorded a plus-eight rating at the AHL level, the best mark on the team, along with seven goals and a very notable 33 assists. Further raising the expectations for McBain was his discipline; the former second round pick had taken only five penalties in 68 appearances.

And finally, in early March, it was time for his first NHL stint. However, instead of McBain’s NHL tryout being a learning experience for McBain, it was rather a learning experience for the rest of the Hurricanes defense. Without question, McBain was the best defenseman on the ‘Canes roster from March 16 on.

In just his first four games, McBain had not only already recorded his first NHL goal (a powerplay game winner with less than a second left in overtime in Pittsburgh), but also found a place on the box score in every one of the four. While McBain cooled off a bit over the last 10 games of the season, he still finished up the year with three goals, seven assists, and a team leading plus-six rating.

The American also impressed everyone involved with the Hurricanes with his calm style, intense work ethic, and willingness to block shots. In fact, McBain had 34 blocked shots in just 14 games, ahead of eight players who had made more than four times as many appearances. His blocked-shots-per-game average of 2.43 was also best on the team…by 0.4 per game (Aaron Ward was second at 2.03).

While a few questions remain, I, and many others, believe that Jamie McBain is one of the most promising young stars in the entire league at this point.

It’s completely legitimate to believe that he could be a consistent top pairing defenseman by the 2012-’13 NHL season, and perhaps even before that. Compare him to a two or three seasons earlier version of the Thrashers’ Tobias Enstrom, the Kings’ Drew Doughty (no, not exaggerating), or even the Hurricanes’ own Joni Pitkanen.

On the other hand, though, even the NHL’s next superstar defenseman needs an offense in front of him to complete the package. Thankfully, plenty of young prospects in the ‘Canes farm system can provide that. One of the most inviting of them is 22-year-old right winger Jerome Samson.

At first, Samson was never expected to ever even make the NHL level for a single game. Back in the spring of 2007, he was still just an undrafted winger playing for Val-d’Or Foreurs (ever heard of them?) of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (sounds like a double negative). However, following that season, Carolina decided to give him an AHL tryout.

Although the tryout opportunity wasn’t unearned, as Samson had recorded 151 points in his past three seasons in the QMJHL, it was quite an out-of-the-blue decision. Fortunately, Samson quickly proved that he deserved a spot in the farm system, to say the least.

Samson played in just 65 games his first season there (’07-’08), but made the most of it, recording 21 goals (including 12 on the powerplay) and 18 assists. Once again, he improved on those totals the next season, making five more appearances, scoring one more goal, and adding 14 more assists. While his plus-minus rating dampened those tallies slightly (it was a combined minus-29), there was no doubt Samson was moving up in the ranks.

This past season, though, Samson truly broke free. The Canadian was first on the River Rats in goals and assists during both the regular season and playoffs.

Additionally, his 37 goals and 41 assists were good enough to tie for the fourth best in the AHL, along with with David Desharnias of the Hamilton Bulldogs (affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens). Albany’s best regular season point total since the lockout can arguably be somewhat credited to Samson’s breakthrough, truthfully.

While Samson was not a standout in his first seven NHL games this season, recording two assists and 10 penalty minutes, he has the potential to be a solid top six forward much sooner than most think. Having come from such a little-known junior league without being drafted takes a lot of the same effort that’s necessary for an NHL-caliber player to have, and Samson already has a jump start in that regard.

As with McBain, Samson has the skill and ability to develop into a player similar to quite a few current well-known players. Comparable young stars could be Vancouver’s Mason Raymond, although Samson can’t quite match up with Raymond in terms of speed, the Islanders’ Kyle Okposo, or Atlanta’s Niclas Bergfors.

Lastly, a player who has the skill set to make a spot on the Hurricanes this autumn and conceivably play alongside Samson will be newly signed center Riley Nash.

A former 21st overall pick in 2007, Nash was acquired from Edmonton for the 46th overall choice in last June’s NHL draft. While the Oilers had grown impatient and eventually traded Nash due to his reluctance to leave Cornell’s hockey program and sign an entry-level contract, Nash’s experience at the NCAA hockey level will certainly come in handy with Nash now on a new deal.

Nash had played in all but six games over his past three seasons at Cornell, and averaged an impressive point-per-game during his time there (102 points in 102 games). This past season, Nash finished second with the Big Red in scoring, earning 35 points (along with Colin Greening, former draft pick of the Senators).

While Nash should have plenty of competition for the two available slots at center this season, his new three-year contract that could earn him over $2.1 million indicates a significant amount of confidence in Nash from the Hurricanes. Indeed, Nash has shown he has the natural touch to light up some leagues, as indicated in the ’06-’07 BCHL season; Nash had 84 points in just 55 games with the Salmon Arm Silverbacks.

He may still be somewhat “raw”, but I can see Nash becoming the next Brandon Dubinsky (N.Y. Rangers), T.J. Oshie  (St. Louis), or Peter Mueller (Colorado) if he “clicks” with the ‘Canes. Otherwise, Nash could still be very inviting trade bait if he can’t transition to the NHL as quickly as many suspect.

Hopefully, though, it won’t just be Nash who can quickly transition to the NHL. With Jamie McBain and Jerome Samson also both at the helms, Carolina could have a deadly three-pronged sword of youngsters taking the league by storm within the next several years.

But, for now, all they can do is watch out for these three as they attempt to make a great impression in their first true opportunity at playing a full NHL season.