Carolina Hurricanes: Five Things Driving Their Latest Playoff Push

It's amazing how far the Carolina Hurricanes have come this season.

Heading into the New Year, the 'Canes were last by far in the conference and looking like an utter disaster just one year removed from their conference finals run in 2009.

After a decently successful January in which the Hurricanes went 9-5, they had pulled themselves up a bit but were no longer in position to "earn" the num. 1 overall draft pick, which was about the only prize that appeared within reach at that point.

However, the Hurricanes have now become one of the hottest teams in the NHL since, and still have kept both mathematical and realistic hope that the playoffs are within their reach. Carolina has now won eight of their last nine (as well as 12 of their last 15) in a streak that began Friday, February 5, in Buffalo.

Since that win, the 'Canes have roared only eight points out of the postseason cut-off line with 17 games remaining in the regular season. However, the top eight is still quite a way off for 13th-place Carolina, and it will take a very hot four-week stretch to qualify. To do that, they're going to need teamwork, hope, and, most importantly, the ability to keep up the pace they've been on for the last nine games over an even longer period.

So, with that said, if the Carolina Hurricanes want to make a playoff push, here are five things that are going to need to keep clicking that have been driving their latest hot streak at the moment.

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