-Tara Hun-Dorris & Gabriel Dorris-

At the end of last season’s Eastern Conference Finals sweep by the Florida Panthers – devastating as it was, it seemed as ‘Canes fans we had much to look forward to in the 2023-24 season. Our head coach, Rod Brind’Amour, was the envy of the NHL. We had won the Metro Division for a third straight year and secured home advantage in the playoffs. Our team was young. Our defense was solid. We had arguably the second best play-off goalie in the league in Frederik Andersen and a solid back-up in Antti Raanta, who performed well early in the play-offs. Even with star player Andrei Svechnikov out with an injury, we had made it to the conference finals. And although we were technically swept by the Panthers, we lost each of those games by only a single goal (and 2 in OT) – with the Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky on an epic hot streak and the first game in the series going to 4 overtimes, making it the sixth longest OT in NHL history and the longest game in ‘Canes history. Many of us believed 2023-24 was going to be our best season yet.

But the universe has a sense of humor.

After winning our home opener vs. Ottawa, we fell flat and injury plagued during our October West Coast series. We beat LA in a shoot out (our only shoot out win of the season to date after choking multiple 3-goal leads) but lost Andersen to a long-term injury. With Raanta and Pytor Kochetkov in the net, we lost badly to Anaheim, rallied to beat the unfortunate San Jose Sharks, then lost three straight by more than one goal each with Kooch at goalie to Seattle, Colorado, and Tampa. Our season since then has been disappointing to say the least, as we have been plagued by a trifecta of goalie woes, absent defense that would make even a solid goalie’s job challenging, and inconsistent offense. We all endured the awfulness of fan favorite and all around good guy Raanta being put on waivers then sent to the minors, then brought back up because no goalie, let alone someone with limited NHL experience like Kochetkov should be expected to carry the full weight of an entire NHL season.

And while it fluctuates a bit, today we sit at fourth in the Metro Division, a full 7 points below those New York Rangers.

So why do we feel good about 2024? Here are five reasons.

1. Leadership from within
   This team has taken some time to pull itself together, and two games is far from a win streak, but things feel different, and the players you expect to lead are leading. Team Captain Jordan Staal is out there winning face-offs and leading by example. Svechnikov and that hat trick made us feel like maybe he is back in a way he wasn’t when he came back from the first injury early this fall. Stefan Noesen is out on the ice hitting, grinding, fighting, and scoring goals. Brent Burns, who seemed to be feeling his age early in the season, is back to being a large presence on the ice, with 20+ minutes of intense ice time per game and 5 points in the last two match-ups. These guys and others are leading by example. Which brings us to
2. Sebastian Aho
   Aho belongs first in #1 (and has a place in #3) but gets his own spot on this list because he earns it game after game. People say the ‘Canes don’t have a single superstar player, but that argument won’t hold up if Aho continues his recent performance. The center who surpassed 500 NHL points on the road in Nashville has had 12 points in the last five games. The majority of these points have been assists. Aho is a subtle superstar who puts the team first and sees the importance of getting the puck in the net over his ego. He clearly has the respect of his teammates and the talent to produce.
3. Goaltending improvements
   The goaltending this season, to put it nicely, has been terrible. With an overall save percentage of .878 we are dead last in the NHL in goals saved. However, in his last seven starts, Kochetkov has a .931 save percentage (and .949 if you excluded the stinker versus the Islanders when Kooch wasn’t properly rested). When he is properly rested and supported by a functional defense, Kochetkov is an effective NHL goalie and has earned his place on our team. Raanta has struggled mightily and has a .855 save percentage, which is dead last in the NHL by a wide margin and is the worst by any goalie starting ≥15 of his team’s games since the 1993-94 performance of Jimmy Waite of the Sharks. Even with these dismal stats, Raanta still has a winning record on the season. This shows the ability of the team to win games despite poor goaltending. This ability, Kochetkov’s improvements, and Andersen’s projected January return are all reasons to fell at least slightly optimistic about this team’s goaltending situation.
4. Home advantage
   The ‘Canes are 19-13-4 overall, but 10-3-3 in Raleigh. We win at home more often than not, and other players have remarked on the difficulty of coming into PNC as a visitor. Because of our October road trip (due to State Fair and NC State football) and our other multiple game away trips, we have more home games than away games remaining by a significant margin. And despite not meeting expectations in the first part of the season, the home crowd continues to be a loud and active seventh man.
5. Play-offs are likely
   Despite our struggles, we are still in a playoff spot. Because we have struggled early and often, perhaps this team will peak later in the season or even in the playoffs rather than appearing exhausted and frail by May.