Vote Teuvo Teravainen!

First and foremost, voting for the 2020 NHL All-Star Game’s ‘Last Man In’ started on January 1 and runs through January 10. Each of the four divisions will have one player voted into the game with the Hurricanes’ nominee being Teuvo Teravainen.

With rising young stars Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov in the Hurricanes mix, Teravainen may not get a chance as good as this one despite being a deserving player.

Shame on us as a fan base if we do not put forth as much effort as possible getting Teuvo into the 2020 NHL All-Star Game.

You can vote ten times per day HERE.

#VoteTeuvoToday

The Carolina Hurricanes schedule ahead

For the Daily Cup of Joe, I regularly break down chunks of schedule often with a points target for that set of games. Most recently, I suggested that the 10 games starting with the Nashville game over Thanksgiving weekend would be a tough stretch. That stretch started with a series of five tough games oscillating between home and away and concluded with the five-game road trip. For that set of games, I suggested that 5-4-1 would have been an acceptable version of mostly treading water for a tough stretch. The Canes blew past that total with an impressive 7-2-1 mark fueled by the 4-0-1 road trip.

Before I could even break out the next stretch of games, the Hurricanes went 0-3 coming out of the successful road trip.

Giving back so much of what had been gained just makes what comes next even more important. January is more or less a home month leading up to the 2020 All-Star break. The Hurricanes are two games deep into seven straight at home. That home stand is followed by two road games before three more at home leading up to a nine-day layoff for the by week and All-Star break. In total, the Hurricanes play 10 out of 12 at home before that extended break to rest and recharge for the stretch run.

If the Hurricanes are going to chart a somewhat easier path to the playoffs without a bunch of tension in the last couple weeks of the season, this stretch represents the best chance to increase the gap above the playoff cut line. Something like 8-4 would go a long way toward having the Hurricanes looking up in the standings instead of scratching and clawing to stay above the cut line coming out of the break.

The schedule that follows in February and March is choppier with only short bursts of two consecutive home games and long road trips of four and six games. If schedule is to be a contributor, the time for the Hurricanes to rack up points is now.

What say you Canes fans?

1) In the 12-game stretch with 10 home games leading up to the All-Star break, what would be your target record?

2) Do you think the 2019-20 Carolina Hurricanes will be able to build enough of a gap above the playoff cut line such that they do not have to scratch and claw for a spot in the last two weeks? Or is the team destined to battle down to the wire for a playoff spot?

Go Canes!