Against the New York Islanders, the Carolina Hurricanes are stacked on D in a potential first round matchup. Should the Canes draw the Pittsburg Penguins* in the first round of the play-offs, the defensive pairings are a little less lopsided, but Carolina still owns the day. Carolina’s strength on defense continues to show the new style of offensive minded hockey being ushered into the NHL, and subsequently the forward thinking of the Hurricanes to continually focus on scoring potential deep on the defensive bench.
Brent Burns and Jaccob Slavin are the old reliable.