Carolina Hurricanes' Close-Game Struggles Costing Valuable Points

Nathan MacKinnon cut toward the net, Jarome Iginla sent a drop pass flying across the goal crease, and Zach Redmond buried a one-time wrist shot past Cam Ward.

One minute and 35 seconds later, the Colorado Avalanche held off the Carolina Hurricanes to secure the 4-3 comeback win, having outshot their visitors 16-8 in the third period to finish with a 35-27 advantage for the game.

For the 'Canes, Saturday night's heartbreaking loss in yet another tight game was a feeling all too well known early in this 2014-15 season.

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Carolina has been the worst team in the NHL in games decided by one goal (excluding empty-netters), winning just three of 13 matches and earning just nine of 26 possible points in such situations.

They've also been the worst team in the league at winning games which, based on the statistics, they didn't deserve to win. The Hurricanes' 1-10 record when being outshot (a .091 winning percentage) is the NHL's worst by a mile; Colorado is second to last with a .231 winning percentage in such games. Montreal, by comparison, is 9-5 when outshot.

And the 'Canes inability to win these types of contests—contests in which they would need to fight down to the wire or overcome adversity to pull out the "W"—is nothing new, either.

Throughout recent seasons, regardless of coaching changes, personnel turnover and other variations, Carolina has perennially struggled and finished near the bottom of the league in these two categories:

Season	Record	NHL Rank
2009-10	14-17	20th
2010-11	22-26	23rd
2011-12	14-27	29th
2012-13	6-7	19th
2013-14	20-20	13th
2014-15	2-7	30th

Season	Record	NHL Rank
2011-12	16-30	30th
2012-13	9-15	24th
2013-14	16-25	26th
2014-15	1-10	30th

New head coach Bill Peters has stressed the importance of shorter shifts this season, hoping to keep players fresher in the later stages of the game. Shifts might be getting shorter, but the 'Canes performance in each period is roughly equal; they've been out-scored 21-15 in the first, 19-17 in the second and 19-15 in the third.

So why such struggles in close games? Perhaps it's not that Carolina is blowing games late—as they did in Colorado—but rather finding it difficult to overcome early deficits, such as in the two prior losses against San Jose and Los Angeles. Their 1-9 record when trailing after the first is better than only four other teams, and their 1-11 record when trailing after the second tops just 10 teams.

The resiliency to overcome such roadbumps will likely come in time, as the 'Canes young and inexperienced squad gains more chemistry and stability.

Nonetheless, this autumn, the continuance of such a pattern has left them with a dismal and unfortunate reality in the most important ranking of all: the standings.

Despite a positive team Corsi percentage that ranks 13th in the league, per War-On-Ice.com, the 'Canes have recorded a mere six wins and 15 points in 20 games—only one point above the lowest total in the NHL and seven points out of the eighth Eastern Conference playoff spot.

The points the 'Canes have not earned in competitive games have cursed them, a month and a half into the 2014-15 campaign, to the cellar of the hockey world's hierarchy.

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