The Carolina Hurricanes continued their push for a division title collecting points in their last 11 games. After dismantling the Chicago Blackhawks Monday night 5-2, the Hurricanes sit on top of the Central Division standings with a 35-10-7 overall record and 77 points. Carolina will have to battle their two Florida foes in the Panthers and Lighting for that title as Florida sits close with 75 points with Tampa Bay following with 73 points. Even after Monday night’s results around the league, the magic number for the Canes is now six for Florida and five for Tampa Bay.
Monday’s dominant performance extended the Canes winning streak to four straight featuring a hat trick from Sebastian Aho, who was recently named the Central Division Star of the Month. Dougie Hamilton and Martin Necas provided the other goals while goalie Alex Nedeljkovic collected 15 saves on 17 shot attempts. The two teams will square off again tonight with a 7 PMpuck drop inside PNC Arena followed by another bout Thursday also in Raleigh before closing out the regular season against a potential first round opponent in the Nashville Predators on Saturday and Monday.