In the face of unexpected adversity, Hurricanes have weathered the storm

The more players the Carolina Hurricanes lose, the better they seem to play. Now that some of the missing bodies are starting to filter back into the lineup, they have to make sure it isn’t subtraction by addition. Given the quality of the players who have been held out, that shouldn’t be an issue.

Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Monday that he’s hoping to have Teuvo Teravainen, Jordan Martinook and Warren Foegele back Tuesday at the Chicago Blackhawks. That would still leave them without Jaccob Slavin and Jesper Fast, and goalie Petr Mrazek is expected to miss an extended period with what is believed to be a right hand injury and may need surgery.

But the way the Hurricanes have played without them and managed the interruption of a week’s COVID quarantine just when they were getting started is nothing short of remarkable, as impressive as it is improbable. With only two practices to prepare and without some of their best players, the Hurricanes have won three straight since the pause, against the defending Stanley Cup champions and the team they beat in the finals — and in different fashion each time.

The first game back against the Tampa Bay Lightning was an up-and-down goaltending duel, the first against the Dallas Stars an offensive explosion and the second against the Stars a late comeback. The Hurricanes matched the Lightning’s skill and paid the Stars’ physical price — a rough-and-tumble opponent that sent Max McCormick, Jordan Staal and Jake Bean to the locker room with heavy hits. (Mrazek’s injury was friendly fire, McCormick crashing into his crease and colliding with the goalie.) Fortunately for the Hurricanes, Staal and Bean were able to return. Mrazek and McCormick were not so lucky.

Still, none of the COVID issues, the injuries or the opponents have been able to slow the Hurricanes down. If it weren’t for those dropped points in Detroit in that second game, they’d be off to the best start in franchise history. Even so, for the third straight year under Brind’Amour, they’re in that conversation.

At 5-1-0, their 10 points are tied with last season for the best mark through six games. A year ago, the Hurricanes opened 5-0-0 and won six of their first seven. Two years ago, in Brind’Amour’s bow, they started 4-0-1. Unlike some of his predecessors, Brind’Amour has been able to get the Hurricanes rolling — this year, perhaps with more difficulty than ever.

The Hurricanes have a chance to eclipse last year’s mark with a sweep of Chicago this week, and after that, it’s mostly 2005-06 through 82 games. They’ll only have the opportunity to threaten that team’s records through 56 games this season, even if all goes swimmingly.

Through six games, though, they’re on track despite any number of obstacles that could have thrown them off of it. The goaltending has been superb, the special teams clinical, the defense has weathered Slavin’s absence and the secondary players whose contributions may determine whether this team achieves its considerable potential — players like Nino Niederreiter, Ryan Dzingel and perhaps most of all Vincent Trocheck — have chipped in at the most opportune moments.

Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov will always get the headlines, but it’s those other guys who will determine how far this team can go. And amid this early adversity, they have delivered.

“In hockey, you need to rely on so many guys so much of the time,” Brind’Amour said. “Your best players only play a third of the game. You rely on all 20 guys in hockey. When we get a couple injuries here and there, as long as you have enough skill and talent — which we do — you can make do as long as you bring the worth ethic. It cancels it out a little bit.”

Now, as the recently absent filter back onto the ice, the Hurricanes appear to have weathered the storm, Mrazek’s prognosis aside. It would be difficult for their record to be any better. At the same time, it’s hard to imagine the circumstances being much worse.