The Carolina Hurricanes, after a long stretch of irrelevance, appear to finally be going in the right direction. They’re a young team with a lot of talent, and though they’re going to be sloppy at times (and their goaltending remains a mess), they should be a ton of fun to watch.


All of that (including the bad goaltending) was on display Sunday in an 8-5 home win over the Rangers in which the Hurricanes overcame four different deficits. The game-winning goal belonged to Andrei Svechnikov, the No. 2 overall pick in June’s draft.

“I waited for this my whole life,” said the 18-year-old Svechnikov, who became the first NHL player born in the 2000s to score a goal. “This was my dream, and my dream came true.”


Svechnikov celebrated his dream by leaping into the glass. So when the final horn sounded on the Hurricanes’ first home win of the season, captain Justin Williams led the team led the team in a multipart celebration. First, a stick raise/slow clap at the blue line (this was apparently planned, and the Canes’ coordination will get better—and once the crowd figures it out, this is going to be quite a sight ). Then, Williams led the team down the ice, and every single player leapt into the glass in imitation of Svechnikov (this part was cooked up by Williams moments before it happened).

Rod Brind’Amour, in his first year as Hurricanes coach, said he’d never seen anything like it.

“We want to have fun when you win,” Brind’Amour said. “The game should be fun. I want the players to enjoy winning and the fans to enjoy being here. Our owner (Tom Dundon) has been pushing that all the way, trying to make it a fun experience for everyone involved. Why wouldn’t you try something different?”

The Canes are 2-0-1, and I have a feeling we’re going to be seeing this celebration a lot.