NHL scores 2017: The Carolina Hurricanes just made the playoff race real interesting

We have a new challenger approaching to the NHL playoff race. Sound the alarms, folks, cause this is a doozy. You thought wrong if you believed we had whittled down the wild card to just a few choices.

The Hurricanes announced themselves quite loudly on Thursday evening with a 2-1 overtime win over one of the Metropolitan Division’s best in the Blue Jackets. The comeback victory started with a Jeff Skinner goal in the closing moments to tie the game at 1-1, then a Noah Hanifin follow up bomb to win it.

The game itself wasn’t much to write home about until those final moments, but the win was just a latest in a string of stingy Hurricanes victories. In fact, Carolina has gone 7-0-3 in its last 10 games, picking up at least a point in its last 13, and has won five of its last six.

The Hurricanes’ rapid rise has certainly caught the rest of the Eastern Conference by surprise, so much so that they’ve jumped to within four points of the Bruins for that last wild card spot with a game in hand.

The catch is, however, that there’s a log jam of playoff suitors in the way. With the Islanders faltering on Thursday against the Flyers, the Hurricanes have an opening. That might be all they get, though, considering the Bruins, Lightning, and Maple Leafs all won their respective games to keep the status quo. Plus, New York really isn’t out of it either.

Even still, the Hurricanes are hot at the right time. Sometimes that’s all it takes to get in, with a little bit of luck of course.

Flyers 6, Islanders 3
Hurricanes 2, Blue Jackets 1 (OT)
Bruins 2, Stars 0
Canadiens 6, Panthers 2
Lightning 5, Red Wings 3
Maple Leafs 3, Predators 1
Wild 5, Senators 1
Jets 4, Ducks 3 (OT)
Oilers 3, Sharks 2

1. There were Gordie Howe hat tricks to spare in Philadelphia

The Flyers had a pair of players get themselves a Gordie Howe hat trick within the opening 20 minutes of their tilt against the Islanders. Both Wayne Simmonds and Dale Weise had a goal, an assist, and a fight, with the latter coming just eight minutes into the game.

There’s conflicting reports of whether that’s the fastest Gordie Howe hat trick in history, but it’s the fastest since 1985.

2. Montreal is headed back to the playoffs

After crashing and burning hard out of postseason contention last season, the Canadiens are back and they’re here to play. With a 6-2 offensive blowout against the Panthers, Montreal punched its ticket as the first non-Metropolitan team in the Eastern Conference.

3. Here’s a check in on the rest of the Eastern Conference hopefuls

We mentioned it above, but the Bruins, Lightning, and Maple Leafs all won their respective games to keep pace with each other in the wild card hunt. Boston met a sleepy Stars team recently eliminated from playoff contention. Tampa Bay had to fight with the Red Wings for a bit before seperating itself for a huge win.

Maybe the most notable is the Maple Leafs, who held on to a 3-1 win against Nashville who surged in the late game. Toronto now has quite the impressive record in its last few weeks.

4. Connor McDavid is winning some trophy this year

This is getting a bit ridiculous, Connor.

5. Minnesota stopped the bleeding

March has not been the Wild’s month. After being one of the hottest teams in the league, Minnesota has been flat in the lead up to the playoffs. On Thursday, the Wild fell behind, but once they got a lead, they held it to break a four-game losing streak.

The Winnipeg Jets may be out of playoff contention, but they stole quite the win from the Ducks last night in overtime.