A 19 year old rookie with a hat trick? Check. A big and loud crowd on a Tuesday night inside PNC Arena? Check. Leadership scoring and sparking the team? Check. Solid goaltending and suppressive defense? Check.
This is, needless to say, unfamiliar territory for the Carolina Hurricanes over the past two weeks.
Coming out of the All-Star break on a five-game losing streak, most all of us knew one of two things would happen last night against the Philadelphia Flyers: either the team would come out flat and likely put the nail in a potential playoff conversation’s coffin, or the Hurricanes of more than two weeks ago would come out firing and with fury.