RALEIGH, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes ended the 2022-23 season eliminated from the playoffs by the Florida Panthers after finishing at the top of Metropolitan Division.
Their success in the second half of the season and in the playoffs was achieved by a team that was without the star power of Andrei Svechnikov, who suffered a season-ending injury on March 11.
Fast forward to this year's season, and the Hurricanes have ended the unofficial first half of the 2023-24 regular season in fifth place in the Metropolitan Division with 38 points and a 17-13-4 record.
The Hurricanes' first half of the season was riddled with injuries, included numerous hot and cold streaks by the team and frustration by a struggling team that has not been seen by fans in quite a while.
Svechnikov, who returned to the lineup on October 27 for his first minutes since last year, did not score his first goal of the year until November 26. He then went on to miss another two weeks of the season due to an upper-body injury but returned again to action on December 19, where he scored a goal in the team's 6-3 win over the defending Stanley Cup champion Las Vegas Golden Knights.
Goaltenders Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta also have had misfortune this year, leaving young Pyotr Kochetkov to take over as Carolina's starting netminder.
Andersen was announced as out indefinitely after medical tests found a blood clot issue in early November. Raanta was waived by the team following its 6-5 overtime loss to the Nashville Predators on December 15. He cleared waivers and was then sent to the American Hockey League's Chicago Wolves to gain back his confidence in hopes of rejoining the team later on this season.
Since November 26, Kochetkov has tallied a 6-5 record, but two of those losses were both 2-1 shootout losses.
In terms of offense, Sebastian Aho has been stellar, leading the team in goals and assists, tallying a total of 31 points.
However, the unexpected bright spot on offense has been center Seth Jarvis, who is third on the team for points, just one behind Martin Necas, who has 25. Jarvis has tallied 11 goals and 13 assists this season, helping an offense that has missed some firepower from a recovering Svechnikov.
Left-winger Michael Bunting has also been stellar, tallying 23 points, as left-winger Teuvo Teravainen has cooled off from an incredible start to the season in which he scored eight goals in the first 10 games of the season.
The Hurricanes return to action Wednesday to take on the Nashville Predators on the road before returning home the next day to host the Montreal Canadiens.