Record: 14-26-7, 35 pts Conference Rank: 15th Division Rank: 5th Top Scorer: Ray Whitney (15 goals, 18 assists, 33 points) Top Goalie: Cam Ward (9 wins, 2.92 GAA) Midseason Grade: F
Is there anything that hasn’t gone wrong for the hapless Canes this season? Not only have they been unable to get any king of momentum going whatsoever, winning back to back games only 4 times this season, but they’ve suffered injuries to three of the most crucial elements of their team. Eric Staal, Erik Cole and star goalie Cam Ward have all missed significant time with injury during the first half of the season. Throw in a 14 game losing streak in October-November, and you have a team that can’t wait for this season to be over.
Carolina has the worst offense in the league, scoring a measly 118 goals so far, and even though Eric Staal has missed around 20 games already, he’s still second on the team in points with 10 goals and 21 assists. Not a single player has more than 15 goals, and only five Canes have 10 or more tallies.
Defensively, it doesn’t really matter what the Canes do, because if you can’t score goals, you’ll never win games. Be that as it may, the Hurricanes are still one of the worst teams in the league in that category as well, having allowed 162 goals already. Only Toronto and Columbus have allowed more. With Ward back between the pipes, they at least have a chance at winning some games, but at this point, they might be better off tanking it and getting Taylor Hall in the draft.