The Carolina Hurricanes focused on improving defensive depth in the 2014 offseason, entering training camp with nine viable defensemen vying for NHL jobs.
Two games into the 2014-15 season, the unit has already been torched twice by a New York Islanders offense that ranked 17th in the league last season.
The problem wasn't so much the volume of shots allowed—only 26 and 31, respectively—but rather the excruciating breakdowns that helped the Isles convert their 57 shots into nine goals.
Tim Gleason, who the Fox Sports Carolinas broadcast reported had spent his entire summer working on quickness, has looked almost as sluggish and elephant-like as he did last fall.
Justin Faulk, despite assisting on the team's first goal of the season, hasn't stood out as the stalwart he needs to be.
New rotating assistant captains Ron Hainsey and Jay Harrison struggled in the first game as well. Hainsey was made a healthy scratch in favor of Ryan Murphy in the second match, while Harrison's ice time was cut from 19:30 to 12:55.
As a whole, the defense was c ...
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Article written by Mark Jones