News to no one who tracks the  Carolina Hurricanes or the NHL in general is the fact that the Hurricanes are off to a tremendous start. As measured by points per game played to adjust for games in hand, the Hurricanes are second only to Toronto. Significant credit for the success has come from scoring surges throughout the lineup.

Today’s Daily Cup of Joe looks at some of the crazy scoring paces currently for the Carolina Hurricanes.

 

(Most amounts are projected for a regular 82-game season.)

 

Scoring Points

Using games played by individual players not the team, the Hurricanes have four forwards who are on pace for a point or more per game in Vincent Trocheck, Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho and Jordan Staal. To put that in perspective, the team has had exactly one player score more than a point per game (Sebastian Aho in 2018-19) and before the emergence of Aho and Teravainen had a run with only one or two players above 50 points.

 

Goals

Looking at projections for goals scored is even crazier. The Hurricanes have three players with seven goals and two more with nine. Seven goals is a massive 36-goal pace, and nine goals is a 46-goal pace. In Hurricanes history, only Eric Staal (twice) and Jeff O’Neill have scored 40 goals in a season. Jiri Tlusty was on pace in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, and Sebastian Aho was on pace last seaon before COVID halted the season. So needless to say, two players on pace for 40-plus goals and three more pacing for 36 is incredible.

 

Standings Points

The Hurricanes current 128-point pace. That would tie the recent high by the 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning and not bettered since the 1995-1996 Detroit Red Wings collected 131 points.

 

Obviously, most, if not all, of these paces will slow over the course of the season, but for the time being they do highlight the magnitude of the Hurricanes current scoring binge.

 

What say you Canes fans?

 

1) Which of the high-flying current paces has the best chance of being maintained (0r close) throughout the full 2020-21 season?

 

2) How many (and who) Canes players will finish with 27 or more goals (40-goal pace)? With 20 or more goals (30-goal pace)?

 

3) How many Canes Hurricanes players will score points at a point per game pace in 2020-21? How many will reach 41 points (60-point pace?

 

Go Canes!