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A frustrating start for the ‘Canes, who’ve already blown a pair of 3-goal leads

Carolina Hurricanes v Winnipeg Jets

WINNIPEG, MANITOBA - OCTOBER 13: Carolina Hurricanes players and coaches watch during a challenge of the third-period tying goal by the Winnipeg Jets during NHL action on October 22, 2016 at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba. (Photo by Jason Halstead /Getty Images)

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A three-goal lead in today’s NHL should not be overcome. Any team that gets one should be able to keep it.

Amazingly, the Carolina Hurricanes have already blown two of them. Amazingly, because they’ve only played two games!

Thursday in Winnipeg, a 4-1 lead ended in a 5-4 overtime loss. Saturday in Vancouver, it was a 3-0 lead that ended in a 4-3 OT defeat.

“We’ve let two points slip now,” said forward Jordan Staal, per the club’s website. “It’s a matter of learning from it. We’ve got to find ways to win. We’ve done some good things throughout these two games, but we haven’t finished strong. We have to find a way to do that.”

The ‘Canes entered the season as a playoff dark horse. Which wasn’t necessarily wrong, because there’s a lot to like about this young team.

But with a young team, there are going to be mistakes.

“I felt like we had the game under control,” goalie Eddie Lack said after the Vancouver defeat. “We played a good team game, but individual mistakes, giving the puck away, and I should have had the first one.”

Goaltending, of course, was an issue for the ‘Canes last season. Yet after finishing with the league’s second-lowest team save percentage (.902), they brought back the same tandem of Lack with Cam Ward, the latter signing a two-year extension to remain with the only NHL team he’s ever played for.

Against the Jets, Ward allowed five goals on just 26 shots. Which wasn’t very promising.

The ‘Canes play the third game of their six-game, season-opening road trip on Tuesday in Edmonton. After that, it’s visits to Calgary, Philadelphia, and Detroit, before finally playing a home game on Oct. 28 against the Rangers.