"We've always been pretty confident in our abilities because we trust what we're doing," head coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "I think the guys get that when we play the way we're trying to, we can be successful against anybody."
In the last week of February, the Canes dropped three games in a row to the defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning, the first and only time so far this season that the Canes have lost consecutive games in regulation.
They haven't lost a game since, rattling off eight straight victories against Florida (twice), Nashville, Detroit, Florida again, Nashville again (twice more) and Detroit again. In that stretch, the Canes have scored an average of 3.63 goals per game and allowed just 1.88. Since Feb. 27, their power play, which remains the overall top-ranked man advantage in the league, has clicked at a remarkable 46.2 percent rate, and their penalty kill has converted at a stifling 88.9 percent rate.
"Special teams is just such an important part of the game," Pesce said. "On most nights, it's the difference."
When the Canes cap their
two-game set in Motown
on Tuesday, they can equal the franchise record for longest winning streak, accomplished twice in the fabled 2005-06 season and once in 2008-09.
But even with the confidence that's bubbling in the room right now, the Canes aren't zooming out to analyze the larger picture. They haven't. They can't.
"I know it's eight in a row, but that's not how we look at it, to be honest with you," Brind'Amour said. "Whether we're losing eight in a row or winning eight in a row, it's irrelevant. It's what have you done for me lately, and what do we have in front of us? That's just how we look at it."
However the Canes look at it, they're finding a growing confidence and success in the process.
"The way we've been playing, it just brings more confidence every game we play," Fast said. "I feel like we know how to play and what makes us a good team. We just have to keep playing this way."
Reimer Celebrates 33rd Birthday
James Reimer is the elder statesman of the Canes, one of only two roster players born in the 1980s, and he celebrated his 33rd birthday today with a good sweat at practice, followed by what should be a "business as usual" evening at the team's hotel. In a normal season, maybe he'd go out for dinner at a local restaurant, but a delivery service meal - compliments of Jaccob Slavin - will have to make do for today.
"He's a real gentleman and a scholar," Reimer said.
Going for a Walkski
Little Caesars Arena is a beautiful new barn, and the practice rink is a part of the same building. It's just a short walk - or ski, as seen from Brock McGinn and Sebastian Aho here - from the visiting dressing room.
