Hurricanes Stars Credited for Team's Hot Streak

The Carolina Hurricanes have spent years building one of the league’s strongest cultures. Accountability, structure and patience have defined their rise from a fun possession team to a true contender. They’ve had regular-season success. They’ve had playoff success. What they haven’t had is the final breakthrough.

That’s why this season feels different. Pivotal. Carolina has been close enough for long enough that anything short of a deep run would feel like another missed opportunity.

Last year ended with heartbreak again, a Conference Final loss to Florida. The season itself was remembered less for the hockey and more for the business: acquiring Mikko Rantanen, then flipping him to Dallas after a brief 13-game stop.

The return they got was massive: Logan Stankoven, a 2026 first-round pick (top-10 protected, converting to an unprotected 2027 first if needed), a 2026 third, a 2027 third, and a 2028 first. It was bold, calculated, and very Hurricanes. This season, the results have followed.

Bussi Changes the Feel of the Game

Carolina sits atop both the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference. Somehow, they’re doing it while owning one of the league’s worst power plays and still ranking among the NHL’s higher-scoring teams. For once, they aren’t leading the league in shots on goal — second only to the first place Colorado Avalanche — but they do allow the fewest shots per game.

One of the biggest differences has come in net. Rookie Brandon Bussi’s arrival has given Carolina an entirely new gear. Like Jesper Wallstedt in Minnesota, Bussi doesn’t just make saves, he calms games. He just became the fastest goalie in NHL history to reach 10 wins, doing it in just 11 starts, and has now won nine straight.

The Hurricanes are rolling, riding a four-game winning streak that includes three straight shootout victories. Two of those came in a weekend back-to-back against Philadelphia. After the second win, Andrei Svechnikov was asked about his success in shootouts in a postgame media scrum. His shootout goal was the 12th of his career (video below), the most in franchise history.

THE MAGIC OF MISTA SVECHNIKOV!! pic.twitter.com/Pqr5fRhxYr
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) December 15, 2025

After giving some insight into some of the key factors behind his historic shootout stats, the conversation shifted to the rookie goalie behind him.

“Just feeling very confident with him," said Svechnikov. "The number one thing, once you feel confident in a goalie, the game comes easy, and I feel like that’s what we feel as a group. And obviously he’s playing unbelievable hockey here, and he’s just gonna keep doing that.”

That confidence matters. When players trust what’s behind them, they defend differently. They attack with more freedom. Mistakes don’t spiral. For Carolina, Bussi’s presence has simplified the game at the most important moments.

HISTORY FOR BRANDON BUSSI! 🚌 pic.twitter.com/d8OrFo4pwl
— NHL (@NHL) December 12, 2025

Slavin’s Return Raises Carolina's Ceiling

Svechnikov was then asked a similar question about Jaccob Slavin. He smiled before answering.

“Definitely, yeah. I mean he’s the best D in the world.”

Simple. Honest. And telling. Slavin missed most of the season after getting hurt just two games in. This was his first game back. For a team that already owned the third-best record in the NHL, adding back its most important defenseman doesn’t just help, it changes expectations.

Oct 11, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin (74) watches the play against the Philadelphia Flyers during the second period at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images | James Guillory-Imagn Images

This Hurricanes group doesn’t rely on flash. It relies on trust — trust in structure, trust in goaltending, trust in players who make everyone else better. With Bussi stabilizing the crease and Slavin anchoring the blue line again, Carolina looks deeper, calmer, and more dangerous than ever.

If this truly is their year, the confidence Svechnikov talked about may be the final piece they’ve been chasing.

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