HOW GOOD ARE THE CAROLINA HURRICANES REALLY?

Eric Staal had the best game of his career last night in the Hurricanes' 9-3 destruction of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Staal tied a franchise record with four goals and six points, all in the game's first forty minutes, putting any doubt about a Carolina victory quickly to rest. The win was the third straight for the Hurricanes, who have won seven of their last nine. As the playoffs approach, let's take a look at whether this is just a standard hot streak for a run of the mill team, or a club that's going to do some serious damage in the postseason.

The 'Canes currently sit right in the thick of things in the Eastern Conference. With 75 points, they sit tentatively in the eighth spot, but have the same number of points as seventh place Montreal and trail two more teams--the Panthers and Rangers--by just one point. That said, the Penguins and Sabres are nipping on their heels with 74 and 73 points respectively. If the Hurricanes can keep up this kind of play, they can put some serious distance between themselves and the competition, and could easily climb as high as fifth in the conference once the playoffs finally begin.

Scoring hasn't been so easy for Carolina for much of the season, as they currently sit just seventeenth in the league with 2.78 goals per game. In the past few games though, the 'Canes have been clicking on all cylanders, having scored 5 goals last Tuesday at Washington, 6 against the Flames, and then 9 in Tampa Bay last night. A lot of that can be attributed to the re-acquisition of Eric Cole right before the trade deadline. Cole spent the first six years of his career with Carolina before a summer trade sent him to Edmonton for defenseman Joni Pitkanen. Cole under-performed in Edmonton, but has completely revamped Carolina's attack, at least for a few games, with a goal in his return, a 6-1 crushing of Calgary, and then four assists in the Tampa Bay blowout. Definitely a good sign for Carolina.

Even better for the 'Canes has been their discipline. Carolina averages only 10 penalty minutes per game, the fewest of any team in the entire NHL. But that doesn't mean they shy away from physical play. Tuomo Ruutu, the team's 26-year-old centerman, is ranked 11th in the league with 180 hits.

Add that to the Hurricanes solid play during close games--19-6-5 in one goal games this season--and Carolina could surprise one of the Eastern Conference leaders come playoff time. They are certainly hitting their stride, and--if they continue this current hot streak--should push another conference foe out of the playoff picture. Just don't look for Staal to score six points every night.