The Carolina Hurricanes went into this season with one, simply stated goal: make the playoffs.
In 2009, when the Canes last appeared in the Stanley Cup playoffs, forward Sebastian Aho was 11 years old. Canes coach Bill Peters was in his first season as coach of the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League, where one of his players was 22-year-old forward Bryan Bickell.
As the Canes reached the midway point of this season, they were not in playoff position, although in terms of points-per-game percentage they were eighth in the Eastern Conference. Entering Tuesday’s road game against Tampa Bay, Carolina (19-14-8) has 46 points.