5 Key Reasons for the Carolina Hurricanes' November Point Streak

The Carolina Hurricanes have evidently never enjoyed a holiday as much as they did Halloween 2014.

What appeared a lifeless skeleton of embarrassment less than two weeks ago—after a winless 0-6-2 October that made even Buffalo temporarily worry about their status as Connor McDavid favorites—has suddenly transformed into the hottest team in the NHL.

The 'Canes boast a league-best 5-0-1 record in November, and the month is only 12 days old.

Cam Ward has enjoyed a career resurrection; he's an unblemished 5-0 with a .946 save percentage and 1.39 GAA this month. In front of him, the top pairing of Justin Faulk and Andrej Sekera has regained 2013-14 form, and a collection of young forwards are providing consistent scoring.

What crucial factors have played into the hot streak that's pulled Carolina to within three points of a playoff spot? A breakdown lies on the coming slides.

Adjusting to a new head coach takes time and patience, but it usually yields great dividends in the end.

This, the 'Canes have learned before.

After hiring Paul Maurice on Dec. 3, 2008, Carolina lost four of Maurice's first five games behind the bench and then went 32-18-2 over the remainder of the season and made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Final.

Similarly, after hiring Kirk Muller on Nov. 28, 2011, the Hurricanes dropped nine of their next 11 matches, but they posted a respectable 23-14-10 record down the stretch.

Bill Peters' first autumn in Raleigh has followed a similar pattern, and the difficult transition period now appears wholly in the rearview mirror. Carolina has tallied equal or more shots on goal than their opponents in seven of its last eight games and surged to sixth in the Eastern Conference in Corsi percentage differential, per War on Ice.

The former Red Wings assistant has the 'Canes playing with confidence and focus, with his team having grown accustomed to the new coaching staff and practiced at the systems in use. 

All eight of the Hurricanes' October games were played in a different arena than the previous game, likely adding even more chaos to an already difficult transition month.

The November slate has, so far, been much more friendly.

Thursday's game against Winnipeg concludes a stretch in which the 'Canes have played five of seven contests at home, and both one-game road trips (to Columbus and Washington) remained in the Eastern time zone.

Moreover, only two of the six opponents (Columbus and Los Angeles) qualified for the playoffs last year, and Columbus is in the midst of a nine-game losing skid.

Saturday's matinee in Boston begins an eight-day stretch in which Carolina faces five consecutive 2013-14 playoff teams, and four of the five games occur on the road (the final three outside the Eastern time zone). The chemistry the 'Canes have developed in the past two weeks will be tested strongly in the hellish week ahead.

A trio of forwards still in the first half of their 20s have all produced points prolifically for the 'Canes this month.

Riley Nash, 25, has yet to play consecutive games without registering at least a point this year; he has two goals, four assists and a plus-three rating in his last six.

Jeff Skinner, 22, tallied his 100th career goal Tuesday—the fourth-fastest to 100 in franchise history—and he has recorded four points and 12 shots in his last three games.

Zach Boychuk, 25, tied the game Tuesday with an unbelievable, no-angle shot and has three points and a plus-three rating in his last five.

None of the three 20-somethings, however, have been able to keep pace this month with Elias Lindholm, who is still three weeks away from his 20th birthday.

The former No. 5 overall pick has enjoyed, by far, the most prolific stretch of his young career; after posting one point in Carolina's first eight games, Lindholm has potted five goals (including a whopping three game-winners) and seven points in his last six appearances.

The across-the-board success from such a young cast of scorers has to excite Peters tremendously.

Faulk's performance in Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames may have been the best of his blossoming career.

Faulk scored what was technically the game-winning goal on a blue-line slap shot in the second period, and he assisted on the first and the third goals with pinpoint lead passes. He led the team with 21:39 in ice time, but the workload was a relatively light one after playing 25-plus minutes in each of the prior four games. No. 27 was also attributed with two hits and one blocked shot.

What looked like a great night in the box score, conversely, was even more impressive under the eye test.

Faulk seemingly played his 22 minutes without a single mistake, initiating countless attacks through D-to-D passes with partner Sekera and breaking up several Calgary counters with perfect positioning and stick-checking.

With two goals and six assists in November, the 22-year-old is now tied for 11th among all NHL defensemen in both scoring and shots on goal.

Cam Ward's first five-game winning streak since March-April 2009 could not have come at a more unexpected time.

With the 30-year-old's trade seemingly entering the negatives and the Hurricanes' team save percentage last in the league, Ward's first shutout since 2012 suddenly jump-started one of the strongest streaks of his lengthy career.

No. 30 has stopped 123 of the last 130 shots he's faced and allowed a mere four even-strength goals in five games (after allowing 13 of such in his first four starts). He's controlled rebounds with expertise, manipulated the pace of play with timely saves and completely avoided the soft "cringe" goals that have plagued his career.

Ward's unblemished dominance is probably not sustainable, but the confidence he's built with this marvelous five-game stretch hopefully will be.