The Hurricanes bring their 3-game winning streak into Los Angeles to take on the Kings at 4:00 today.<\/b>
\nPosted November 20,2021 11:38 a.m. EST Updated November 20,2021 12:39 p.m. EST By Adam Gold radio host 99.9 the Fan We do a lot of comparing as sports media folk — too much, if I\u2019m being honest. No two players are alike and no two teams are built the same, nor do they encounter similar obstacles along their respective roads. Yet, we still insist on bringing up the past to somehow justify the present. The Carolina Hurricanes are off to their best start in franchise history. Thursday night\u2019s win in Anaheim raised their record to 13-2-0 surpassing the 2005-06 team\u2019s 12-3-0 mark through that edition\u2019s first 15 games. Now, we all know what happened the following June, but I\u2019m here to warn all y\u2019all. History has no bearing on the future. Zero. Nada. Zilch. Bupkis. I\u2019m not gonna lie, though, the first 5 \u00bd weeks of the season have been fun. It hasn\u2019t always been artwork, as evidenced by Thursday\u2019s thrill ride win over the Ducks, but these Canes have a way of staying in it until they find their game. That\u2019s how you get to an NHL best.867 point percentage. But, as fast as it came that\u2019s how quickly it can disappear, and if you think the Kings can\u2019t make that happen, think again. Los Angeles had high expectations coming into the season. Promising rookie Quinton Byfield was coming, stalwart defenseman Drew Doughty was rejuvenated and there were high caliber additions to the team like Viktor Arvidsson and Phillip Danault. Well, something happened on the way to the playoffs. Byfield was injured during the preseason and hasn\u2019t played this year. Doughty got hurt in the 4th game of the season and is still out of the lineup. Arvidsson, who came over in a trade with Nashville was hurt, then came back and now is in Covid protocol. And, while he\u2019s healthy and playing, Dustin Brown hasn\u2019t scored in 11 games after averaging 22 a year for the last four seasons. None of that has impacted the Kings in the win-loss column, however. Wednesday\u2019s 2-0 loss to the Capitals snapped a 7-game winning streak and were it not for a dreadful 1-5-1 start L-A would be bearing down on the leaders in the Pacific Division. The reason for that has been great goaltending led by Jonathan Quick. The one time all star, perennial Vezina Trophy candidate and former Conn Smythe award winner has turned back the proverbial clock on his career. Over the last three seasons, Quick had a substandard.896 SV%, a GAA of 3.05 and had a goals saved above average (GSAA) mark of -40.9. So, roughly 41 goals that shouldn\u2019t have gone in, did. This year? Quick has these numbers in those same categories: SV%:.940. GAA: 1.88. GSAA: 7.6. To put that last statistic in perspective, Quick has only played in 9 games. Carolina\u2019s Frederik Andersen — tonight\u2019s starter — has played in 12 and his number GSAA is 9.7. If you think Andersen has been great, that\u2019s what the Kings have been getting from their star netminder. Want to hear a joke? This is the ninth game for Canes rookie Seth Jarvis. This means that after today, the Hurricanes could return Jarvis to his junior team in the Western Hockey League without even starting his NHL contract. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Jarvis has three goals, has back-to-back game-winners on this road trip and is coming off a game in which he was the best player on the ice. The next time Jarvis will be in Portland is if Damian Lillard leaves him tickets to a Blazers home game. The kid is here to stay. Who needs a cookie? Andrei Svechnikov, Jordan Staal and Jesperi Kotkaniemi have all gone eight games since their last goal. Andrei does have 7 assists over that stretch while Staal and Kotkaniemi have combined for just one helper. Jaccob Slavin hasn\u2019t scored a goal all year. Nor has Ian Cole, but no one is expecting Ian to fill up the net either. Leaders of the pack\u2026 Anze Kopitar leads the Kings with 8 goals and 16 points on the season. Alex Iafallo has 6 goals and 7 assists. Adrian Kempe is next on the team with 5 goals and 9 scoring points. Trios and Duos\u2026 Svechnikov-Aho-Jarvis Teravainen-Trocheck-Necas Niederreiter-Staal-Fast Martinook-Kotkaniemi-Stepan Slavin-Bear Skjei-Pesce Cole-DeAngelo Andersen Raanta The only change to the group today will be Derek Stepan drawing back into the line up as Steven Lorentz comes out. It\u2019s worth pointing out that Rod Brind\u2019Amour is well aware that there really isn\u2019t anyone not deserving of playing. There are 13 forwards playing well on the regular. But, you can only play a dozen. My guess is that we\u2019ll see a bit of a rotation as long as the group remains healthy. Wanna bet\u2026 Canes -160, O\/U: 5.5 Coverage begins at 3:30 pm with Storm Watch starring Alec Campbell on 99.9 the Fan. Immediately following with the play by play will be Mike Maniscalco and Tripp Tracy. Don\u2019t forget to follow the Canes Corner Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. There is a fresh episode the morning after every Hurricanes game.<\/p>\n