Carolina Hurricanes Month in Review: November 2021

It's hard to play better than the Canes did in October. Completing a perfect 8-0-0 start in the season's opening month, the question then centers on how long the Canes could keep this streak alive. The record set by Buffalo in 2006-07 was ten games and there have been a few others that have made it to nine straight. New additions Frederik Andersen and Tony DeAngelo were among the many players that got off to hot starts, so the goal is to continue those starts into November. They were a juggernaut of a team out of the gate, but the schedule in November was longer, tougher, and road-heavy. The Canes would be on the road for ten of the 13 games this month, with a trip through Florida and a west coast trip on the horizon. Here's a look back at November for the Hurricanes. 

The Month in Review

The team began the month with a three-game trip starting in Chicago and then through Florida. The opener of the month was a hard-fought 4-3 win in Chicago, moving the Canes to 9-0-0 on the season and setting up a matchup with the Florida Panthers, an equally hot team. The Panthers laid the smackdown on the Canes in the first period, scoring three power play goals and four goals total, and the Canes never recovered. The 5-2 loss was the team's first of the season, but it also gave the feeling that the season could finally start. They bounced back with an overtime win over the Lightning before heading home for a back-to-back. The Canes would split the back-to-back home games with Philadelphia and St. Louis, setting up the longest road trip of the season out to the west. It was a rough two-week trek, but the Canes finished the west coast portion of the trip 3-1-1, despite losing the last two games in San Jose and Seattle. The road trip ended with a six-goal performance in Philadelphia to get a measure of revenge for the loss earlier in the month. The month would end with a whimper as the team dropped the last two games, a home loss to Washington and a loss on the road in Dallas. Overall, the team finished 7-5-1 for the month, picking up 15 of a possible 26 points and sitting two points behind Washington for first in the division. 

The story of the month for me was the special teams for the Canes. While they continue to have one of the best kills in the league, currently the third-best in the league after killing 39 of 45 chances in the month, the power play has really fallen off. The team went just four for 38 for the entire month and hasn't scored on the power play in seven games. The team defense remains one of the stiffest in the league, sitting second in the league with just 47 goals allowed. The offense is still in the top ten despite its recent struggles, currently ninth in the league with 67 goals. 

Individually, the Canes were paced by Tony DeAngelo and Sebastian Aho with ten points each in the month. DeAngelo is tied for fourth in assists (15) and tied for sixth in points (19) amongst defensemen with Victor Hedman, and the names above him aren't bad either. Aho finished with the exact same numbers he did in October, tallying five goals and five assists. He leads the team in goals (10) and is tied for the team lead in points with Andrei Svechnikov with 20. Frederik Andersen wasn't quite able to keep his scorching hot start going. Andersen finished the month 4-5-0 with a .904 SV% and a 2.65 GAA, but he's still tied for second in wins (11), sixth in GAA (2.05), and in the top ten in SV% (.928). Antti Raanta played well too, going 2-0-1 with a .909 SV% and a 2.16 GAA in four games. 

Arguably the biggest news of the month related to COVID protocol for the team with Ethan Bear being placed in it before the San Jose game and both Brett Pesce and Tony DeAngelo having similar issues before the Dallas game. If I understand the protocol correctly, a player stays in the protocol for ten days before they can be released. This means Bear should get out of it on 12/1, while Pesce and DeAngelo should exit protocol on 12/9.

Moment of the Month- Seth Jarvis Scores His First NHL Goal in Chicago (11/3)

After recording his first-career point on the game-winning goal in his debut against Arizona to end October, we didn't have to wait long for the first-career goal for Seth Jarvis. Playing Chicago for the second time in three games, the Canes were down 3-1 more than halfway through the second period when Jarvis was in on a breakaway thanks to Derek Stepan. He went one-on-one with Marc-Andre Fleury and tucked it between his legs for his first goal. I think he's since admitted that he lost the puck and was fortunate that it went through Fleury, but it still counts. This goal was also huge given the situation because it allowed the Canes to enter the intermission down just one goal before they scored twice quickly in the third period and held on to win to secure their ninth win to open the season. It was definitely a difference-making goal. 

Honorable Mention- Martin Necas' game-winning goal in the second period against Los Angeles (11/20)

Game of the Month- 2-1 (OT) W at Tampa Bay Lightning (11/9)

This is the game that immediately preceded the Canes' first loss of the season to Florida. It was a matchup with the two-time defending champions, the team that knocked them out of the playoffs, and the best goalie in the world. It was a playoff-like game and the Bolts got on the board first thanks to a fortunate no-call on Alex Killorn, resulting in a goal by Steven Stamkos. The Canes responded with a goal of their own from Teuvo Teravainen on the power play, an advantage that was the result of a questionable call. Each team secured a point after each goalie made some stops to get the game to overtime. The Canes initially thought they'd won the game on a snipe from Brady Skjei that beat Vasilevskiy over his glove, but Vincent Trocheck entered the zone too early and negated the goal after a review. This could have been a death wish for the Canes, but Martin Necas, a man known for beating the Bolts in overtime, snapped a shot over the blocker of Vasilevskiy. This goal counted and the Canes left Florida with a split. The reason this game stands out to me is the way the team responded after a loss. The Florida game left a sour taste in my mouth, so I was a little worried about how they'd respond, but I was not disappointed at all. It was a quality win over a playoff-proven team, much like the win over Boston in October. 

Three Stars of the Month

Third Star- Seth Jarvis (4 G, 2 A, 6 P in 13 G)

With Jarvis reaching ten games, the first year of his rookie deal has been exercised. The way he played for most of this month, especially on the west coast trip, you'd never guess this was his rookie season. While he hasn't recorded a multi-point game yet, he had five points in six games during the road trip. He scored in three straight games and scored the game-winning goals in both Vegas and Anaheim. He's been playing on the top lines during this stretch and has shown some incredible chemistry with some of the team's stars. 

Second Star- Martin Necas (3 G, 5 A, 8 P in 11 G)

Necas had a very quiet first month of the season but came on strong in November. After scoring just four points in October, Necas racked up eight points for the month and he's now sitting in sixth on the team. Necas missed the back-to-back at home because he wasn't feeling well, but came back and recorded two assists in his return against Vegas, an assist the next game in Anaheim, and the game-winner in Los Angeles. All three of his goals in November were game-winners, including the overtime winner against the Lightning. 

First Star- Tony DeAngelo (2 G, 8 A, 10 P in 12 G)

I was skeptical that DeAngelo would be able to keep up his start after scoring more than a point per game in October, but he proved me wrong. DeAngelo tied with Sebastian Aho with ten points for the month and led the team with eight assists. He's just one point behind Aho and Svechnikov for the team lead. While most of his production came on the power play in October, he did most of his destruction at even strength, with only one assist on the power play. He also quietly had a four-game point streak going before it was snapped against Washington. He'll be in COVID protocol for the next few games, so the Canes will need to find a way to make up for his production.

Preview for December

There are 14 games on the schedule this month, but they're going to be at home a little bit more than they were in November. It's an even home-road split, with the Canes playing in Raleigh seven times and on the road seven times. The most notable stretch of games on the schedule is the five-game trip through western Canada and Minnesota from 12/7 to 12/14 all starting after 8 PM on the east coast. During this period, they'll play one of their two back-to-backs against Edmonton on 12/11 and Vancouver on 12/12. The second set is at home 12/17 and 12/18 against Los Angeles and Nashville. Another interesting tidbit is that none of the games are against division opponents. 

Games to Watch for December

12/9 at Calgary and 12/11 at Edmonton

The trip through Canada is going to be brutal, but these are the two games I'm the most excited about. The Flames sit atop the Pacific Division going into December and Jacob Markstrom has been one of the league's best goalies. They're the only team with fewer goals allowed than the Canes and they've recorded seven shutout wins. Edmonton boasts the two best players in the world in McDavid and Draisaitl, but the supporting cast has greatly improved as well. This will be a grueling trip against some of the hottest teams in the league and these two are certainly two of the Pacific's finest. 

12/14 at Minnesota

The team finishes the road trip up in Minnesota against another team that just doesn't seem to be losing a lot lately. Kirill Kaprizov has picked up right where he left off after a Calder Trophy season and Ryan Hartman has been lighting the lamp a lot. Cam Talbot is tied for the league-lead in wins and their team offense is just one goal behind Florida and Washington for most in the league. This is a rough way to finish a tough trip with a lot of travel.

12/27 v. Florida

While this could be seen as a revenge game after the thrashing the Panthers gave the Canes for their first loss of the season, I'm more interested in this game to see how much these two teams have changed since the meeting. Almost two months will have passed between matchups, so I'm interested to see where the Canes are now compared to where they were when they met in early November. They've met quite a bit in the last calendar year, so they're familiar with one another. I don't think we'll see the same type of game. 

12/30 v. Montreal

The last game in 2021 is the second meeting of the season with the Montreal Canadiens, but this time it's at PNC Arena. I'm very interested to see what the reception will be like from the fans after Montreal's fans gave Jesperi Kotkaniemi a hard time. He scored a goal in the first game and he finished the month of November off scorching. There's a long time between now and then, so a lot can change. Montreal isn't playing well this season after a run to the Stanley Cup Final. I'm attending this game in person, so that's another reason why I'm so excited for December 30th.