4 Key Questions for Carolina Hurricanes' Season Opener vs. New York Islanders

The Carolina Hurricanes will seek to restore confidence after a discouraging and destructive training camp, reverse their history of home-opener struggles and win the first half of a divisional home-and-home series with the New York Islanders on Friday night at PNC Arena.

It's an ambitious agenda for the first game of the season.

Minus injured Jeff Skinner and Jordan Staal and benched Anton Khudobin, who will most likely start on Saturday on Long Island, the 'Canes have too much to prove. Eight out of eight experts in The Hockey News' season preview projected Carolina to finish dead last in the Metropolitan Division in 2014-15.

A win over the Isles at home probably wouldn't do too much to shatter such low expectations, but it would at least get the team moving in the right direction.

What critical new aspects should be watched most closely during Friday's game? A breakdown of four particularly pressing questions awaiting answers lies below.

How will Cam Ward handle the pressure?

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Cam Ward was unquestionably terrible last season, winning just 10 of 28 decisions and posting a horrendous .898 save percentage. He was marginally better in Raleigh, however, emerging victorious in three of his last five home starts to finish with a 5-5-3 record and .904 save percentage at PNC Arena.

Debuting head coach Bill Peters made a bold decision to start Ward over the statistically superior Khudobin, although the choice may be more symbolic of his confidence in Ward than indicative of the two goalies' positions on the depth chart. It's also worth noting that Ward boasts a 17-3-3 career record against the Islanders.

Each of Ward's three starts in the preseason was better than the previous one, capped off with a .950 save percentage (19 saves on 20 shots) in last Friday's 5-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres. But can he continue his recent upward trend in front of 18,000 fans who have, over the years, already grown weary of Ward's inconsistency?

No. 30 must put together a strong performance under immense pressure on Friday night.

Can Victor Rask continue his dominance in the regular season?

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Victor Rask's explosive autumn—one that has launched him from a second-line center in the AHL to the same role in the NHL—has been well-documented. He led all participants in September's Traverse City Prospects Tournament with nine points in four games, and then recorded four points and a 61.3 faceoff percentage in five preseason appearances.

He'll make his NHL debut on Friday between Nathan Gerbe and Elias Lindholm as the Hurricanes' No. 2 center.

There will inevitably come a time when Rask's dizzying career escalation slows, when he must fight through his first NHL slump. Whether that time will hit like a brick wall at the start of the regular season or like a large speed bump two months down the road is not yet known.

How will the special teams perform?

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Longtime on-ice captain Rod Brind'Amour has taken on the largest role yet in his brief coaching career this season, with his first priority being a revitalization of the team's perennially dreadful special teams units. The power play hasn't ranked higher than 18th in the NHL since 2007-08, and the penalty kill hasn't ranked higher than 17th (its ranking last season) since 2006-07.

Brind'Amour's efforts seemed to pay off rather effectively in the preseason. The man-advantage unit scored twice or more in three different matches, converting nine of 37 opportunities (24.3 percent) overall. The penalty-killing unit, meanwhile, allowed only three goals to the opposition out of 20 opportunities (15 percent).

Continuing such special teams success—especially against an Islanders penalty kill that ranked second-to-last in the league in 2013-14—should provide an enormous boost, both in the home-and-home series, as well as the 82-game season as a whole.

Will new leadership group make a difference?

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A new general manager. A new team president. A new head coach. Two new assistant coaches. One new alternate captain. A new captaincy system.

When Peters named Andrej Sekera as one permanent recipient of the 'A' designation and Ron Hainsey and Jay Harrison as alternating recipients on Thursday, he concluded an offseason that has drastically overhauled the Hurricanes' off- and on-ice leadership more than perhaps any other in franchise history.

Although certainly justified, the sweeping changes may take some time for the 'Canes to adjust to. Or they may not.

Friday night will provide an early indication of the length of transition time necessary.

Mark Jones has covered the Carolina Hurricanes for Bleacher Report since 2009. Visit his profile to read more, or follow him on Twitter.