Twenty days after the opening of the NHL season, the Carolina Hurricanes will finally play their first “real” home game. While one of the two games they played with the Minnesota Wild in Helsinki, Finland counted as a home contest, this will be their first one in Raleigh, North Carolina for the 2010-11 season.
While defenseman Joe Corvo has a point about their early schedule, the Hurricanes have persevered admirably with a 4-3 record to open the season. The rest of October is far from a cake walk too, as the Hurricanes face Washington and Pittburgh at home with a road game against the Rangers in between.
Here’s a little more context regarding the crazy start to the season handed out to Carolina.After visiting Russia, Finland, Ottawa, Vancouver, San Jose, Los Angeles and Phoenix, the Carolina Hurricanes are glad to be back in Raleigh.
The ‘Canes, who’ve traveled more than 15,000 miles since their last home preseason game 26 days ago, become the last of the NHL’s 30 teams to play its home opener when the Washington Capitals come to the RBC Center Wednesday night for a 7 p.m. ET faceoff.
Of course, every team gets 41 games at home and 41 on the road (well, I guess 40 in each spot with those games in Finland), so there are spots where the Hurricanes benefit. They’ll play 16 of their last 24 games at home, which fits in nicely with the team’s reputation to get on late hot streaks.
The team also hosts the 2011 All-Star Game, too, so the NHL isn’t beating up on the Hurricanes as much as it might seem. In a way, Carolina is just taking its medicine early.