Power Play: Hurricanes fall 2-0 in season finale, look to future
RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes closed out their 2014-15 season -- a sixth straight without a playoff berth -- with a 2-0 loss to Detroit. The Red Wings will of course be in the playoffs yet again, and the Hurricanes (30-41-11) will be left to pick up the pieces and reevaluate everything before next season begins.
1. Bill Peters' debut season as an NHL head coach with the Hurricanes comes to a close, and there are still questions about the future
It was still too early after the 2-0 loss for Peters to assess what the season meant to him, or if any big moments stood out. The only thing the former Detroit Red Wings' assistant would let himself get nostalgic about was the playoffs.
Peters' team closed the season competing against some of the league's upper-echelon teams, and they were part of some high-caliber games. It was almost like the playoffs -- except, not quite.
"That was the fun thing for me coming down the stretch playing these good teams. ... That's as close as some of these guys have gotten (to the playoffs)," Peters said. "There's another level. It goes up again. So it's unfortunate that some guys haven't witnessed that and experienced it and lived it and until you do, you don't know."
Playoff-like games aren't a substitute for the playoffs, of course. But what the games did do was show Peters and his players how simultaneously close and far away they are from where they want to be. They were right there in so many games against good teams. But almost doesn't count. There's only so much his group -- which has steadily become tougher mentally on his watch -- can do without the physical strength necessary to compete.
That was evident against the Red Wings (43-25-14), who made every pass a challenge and didn't give the Hurricanes an inch.
"I think these last two games that we played in Detroit and here was real good for our guys, to leave that impression in your mind of how much work there is to be done to get stronger, how little room there is when you play good teams," Peters said. "You've got to find a way to get separation."
The year-end meetings will begin on Monday, and the team will begin to assess which direction they want to head in terms of their dealings with individual players, too.
Peters, as usual, was honest and direct about that.
"You guys know who had good years and you know who didn't, and so do we. There's no hiding that. We know some kids emerged and did real well. We know some guys set career highs. Some young guys have to go home and have a real good summer," Peters said. "We'll have a strong message for each and every one and we'll have a collective message for our team moving forward."
2. The story of the season was the same story it was in the finale -- an inability to score goals
It sounds pretty simple: If you can't score goals, you can't win games.
The Hurricanes improved significantly in a ton of key areas this year, including in the penalty kill and shots against. The defense was, at times, excellent. The Hurricanes were among the lead leaders in shots against for the first time in team history, and they're ranked among some of the league's best teams in that category.
The whole scoring goals thing was a problem, though. So it seemed somewhat appropriate, in a sense, that their final game of the season was a shutout loss as it more or less encapsulated the problem with the year as a whole.
"Didn't score. That's obviously, no chance to win if you don't score. So that part of it, we've got to get fixed," Peters said wryly.
"It seemed like there were plenty of chances, probably the better chances than they had, to be honest. But if you don't get any, it's tough to win," defenseman Ron Hainsey said.
"I think we created enough chances to score," captain Eric Staal said. "We just didn't."
The Hurricanes out-shot the Red Wings 35-29, but out-shooting opponents was common this season.
"We generate a lot of shots, but our problem is scoring, for the most part, enough goals to win games -- 1-0, 2-1 games, it's tough," Hainsey said. "And we just weren't able to do that over the course of the season. That's the biggest thing we need to improve on, and whether that's the 'd' getting the puck to the forwards a little faster in a better spot where they can create more quicker and more guys around the net, maybe a little bit higher shooting percentage, then we can fix those things."
3. It's hard to imagine this team without its heart and soul, Justin Faulk
The 26-year-old defenseman represented Team USA in the 2014 Olympics, and he has shown that he's just as elite as advertised this season. He's been the Hurricanes' leader in ice time, for one, and he's consistently checked the opponents' top players.
He's never complained, he's kept a good face on -- even with all the disappointing losses -- and he's become an encouraging piece of this team moving forward, rather than a talented young malcontent or misguided player that the Hurricanes will have to get on the right track.
There are plenty of pieces that need to be built up around Faulk, but the way he played this season was a big reason the Hurricanes improved as much as they did defensively. If younger defensemen have Faulk to learn from in the future, the team will be in great shape there.
"He was our MVP. I don't think there's much doubt about that. He really took a huge step forward as far as everything -- his offensive ability, his defensive game is better, his reads are better, his communication on the ice is better," Hainsey said. "He really improved in all areas. That's what you're looking for from a guy who's going to play 25 minutes a game against the other team's top players, power play.
"He improved in all areas. Obviously we're going to need him to continue on that path because he was our MVP, I think."
Ron Hainsey: The Hurricanes' veteran defenseman led the team in even-strength ice time (21:49) and short-handed ice time (2:00), not to mention tying a team high with four hits and four blocked shots.
Cam Ward: In his season finale for the Hurricanes, the team's primary goalie stopped 27 of the 28 shots he saw (the second goal allowed was an empty-netter), and he had a real chance to finish with a .500 record but instead took his 24th loss of the season. He still got the win in 22 of the Hurricanes' 30 victories this season, and he took some steps forward after a rough year last season.
John-Michael Liles: The defenseman had a very nice end to the season for the Hurricanes, and in the season finale, he too a team-high six shots and tied for the team lead with four blocked shots.
