Carolina Hurricanes' Black Alternate Jerseys Should Become Home Uniform

As the Carolina Hurricanes take the ice at PNC Arena prior to Tuesday's game, the rink will be noticeably lacking in the shade of red that has served as the franchise's primary color since its relocation in 1997.

The 'Canes will be outfitted, for the eighth time in 22 home games to date, in their black alternate jerseys as they face off against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Gregg Forwerck/Getty Images

And based how the first seven have played out, the 'Canes may stand a slightly better chance at beating the Atlantic Division-leading Lightning than they would otherwise because of the apparel choice alone.

The 'Canes are 5-2-0 in their alternate jerseys this season and have won three consecutive games wearing them—a stark contrast to their 4-7-2 record in the standard red home jerseys (they're 1-0-0 when wearing white at home).

Since the black kits were introduced before the 2008-09 campaign, Carolina has been regularly more successful sporting the alternates:

Jersey Type	W	L	OTL	Win %	Point %
Black Alternates	46	30	6	56.1%	119.5%
Red/White Standard	80	69	19	47.6%	105.9%

The possibility that the correlation is entirely due to luck certainly exists.

The same could be said for the chance that the better record is due to a psychological boost from the special factor of wearing the third jerseys, perhaps providing an extra ounce of motivation.

Date	Opponent	Result
Nov. 1	Arizona	W 3-0
Nov. 7	Columbus	W 3-2
Nov. 13	Winnipeg	L 1-3
Dec. 7	Detroit	L 1-3
Dec. 18	Toronto	W 4-1
Jan. 4	Boston	W 2-1
Jan. 13	Colorado	W 3-2
Jan. 27	Tampa Bay
Feb. 17	NY Islanders
Feb. 27	Washington
Mar. 8	Edmonton
Mar. 14	Florida

But it's also possible that the uniform itself is somehow conducive to success, most likely resulting from the coincidence that its primary color is the same as the puck.

Through the eyes of any player, he is joined by five teammates and six opponents on the ice. Thus, in mathematical terms, 45 percent of the skaters he sees are teammates and 55 percent are opponents.

As a result, 55 percent of the fellow skaters seen by a hypothetical 'Canes player are wearing white—a color against which the puck will stand out better—while 55 percent of the fellow skaters seen by a hypothetical opponent player are wearing black—a background that doesn't provide the same contrast.

The difference between a white and black jersey may matter most with the goalies, where potential rebound or netmouth scramble opportunities could be lost if the black puck blends in with the black jersey. After all, Cam Ward and Anton Khudobin boast a combined .937 save percentage in black jerseys this year compared to a .909 mark in red or white.

The argument may seem far-fetched and overblown, but if a slight advantage to the alternate kits exists even in the slightest, the 'Canes could still be missing out on an additional point or two by keeping their red outfit as their standard home jersey.

Gregg Forwerck/Getty Images

Several reasons in favor of the shift exist beyond the disputable on-ice advantage, as well.

Certainly more fans in PNC Arena on any given night are wearing red than black. Flipping the table could entice some to buy a new black jersey to maintain solidarity with the 'Canes.

There's also the originality factor. Only four clubs (Anaheim, Boston, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh) sport standard home jerseys featuring primarily black. Conversely, 10 clubs (Arizona, Calgary, Chicago, Detroit, Florida, Minnesota, Montreal, New Jersey, Ottawa and Washington) wear a varying shade of red.

Gregg Forwerck/Getty Images

The Hurricanes could very well lose to Tampa Bay on Tuesday, regardless of jersey (they have lost nine of their last 10 meetings with the Bolts dating back to 2012).

As the season slowly creeps toward its April conclusion, however, the 'Canes may be building the case for an offseason decision—a decision not on trading Ward or Alexander Semin, not on which free agents to re-sign and add, but rather on which color jersey to designate as the home standard in 2015-16.

It could have a bigger effect than any lone personnel change at any point in the summer.

Mark Jones has been a Carolina Hurricanes featured columnist for Bleacher Report since 2009. Visit his profile to read more or follow him on Twitter.