How Brent Burns Is Fueling the Hurricanes' Hot Streak
The offensive defenseman has made himself right at home in Carolina
With an NHL-leading 17-3-1 record since January 12, it’s fair to say the Carolina Hurricanes are on fire.
As you might expect, Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Martin Necas are driving the bus up front. Even Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s offense is coming around. However, the true spark plug during this run has been Brent Burns. The 38-year-old defenseman’s first season in Carolina has been nothing short of outstanding:
He’s been particularly brilliant lately, generating offense and racking up points at an elite level (22 in his last 21 games). He might actually be performing better now than he did during his Norris-winning campaign in 2016-17.
Here’s how Burns is supercharging Carolina’s attack.
Turn Up the Volume
The veteran blueliner has fit in seamlessly for a few reasons:
The team’s 200-foot puck pressure limits the amount of time he has to defend.
He’s further insulated by the league’s top shutdown artist (Jaccob Slavin).
Since the Hurricanes are primarily a dump-and-chase team, his responsibilities in transition are modest.
Carolina’s offense is based on volume rather than pure talent.
With the deck stacked in his favor, Burns can focus on what he does best: hammering the opposition with shot after shot. He consistently finds ways to fire pucks on net, supplying the forwards with ample deflection and rebound opportunities.
These are lower-percentage looks to be sure, but his itchy trigger finger suits the club’s puck pursuit to a tee:
Notice how he’s never caught off guard by a pass or loose puck. He makes sure to get his hips around him so that he can launch shots from anywhere at any time.
Moreover, he does an excellent job of slipping pucks past the first layer of traffic. It doesn’t matter whether or not it’s a “good” shot. Sometimes, it doesn’t even matter whether the bid is on target. As long as it clears the initial hurdle, the rabid Hurricanes can turn suboptimal plays into feeding frenzies in the slot.
They simply need an opening to begin their onslaught. Burns’ shooting gallery from the point provides just that, gaining access to the heart of the defense on a nightly basis.
Among blueliners who have logged 700+ minutes at 5-on-5 this season, he ranks:
3rd in shot attempts.
2nd in unblocked shot attempts.
4th in rebounds created.
Carolina is coached to overwhelm you in the trenches. Meanwhile, Burns has built a career out of guiding the action there as often as possible.
That’s a match made in heaven.
Switching Lanes
While Burns can shoot from anywhere, he’s more discerning than he appears. If he senses space or an opponent overplaying their angle, he’ll convert an ordinary touch into a much better one.
He doesn’t necessarily weave through defenses on his own. Instead, he’ll double-clutch to carve out some daylight or walk the line in order to claim the middle of the ice. He only moves enough to manufacture the lane he desires.
Carolina’s faceoff proficiency (5th in the NHL) is a boon too, as he’ll use his defender’s momentum against them to uncover a more attractive shot:
These are admittedly minor adjustments. However, they can make a major splash when you’re a mobile behemoth. With Burns’ wingspan, a slight pull and drag can totally throw off his mark. Now consider how much ground he can cover as he swings the puck backhand to forehand at the blue line.
Staying in front of him is a serious challenge.
It doesn’t help that Burns is a willing distributor too. He completes a ton of slap passes, once again relying on the Hurricanes’ tight-quarters work rate to prevail. This formula has proven very fruitful recently.
Since mid-January, no defenseman has produced at a higher 5-on-5 rate (300+ minutes). Frankly, no one’s close.
Brent Burns: 2.36 pts/60
Roman Josi: 1.96 pts/60
Erik Karlsson: 1.92 pts/60
Throughout this 21-game heater, his eagerness to shoot and gift for manipulating coverage have made him look like the most dangerous blueliner in the game.
No Rest for the Weary
Another benefit of his 6’5”, 230-pound frame is his ability to extend Carolina’s attack via well-timed pinches.
Because the Hurricanes present such a cohesive five-man front, Burns can afford to crash down in hopes of repelling the opposition’s breakout. Should he fail, he knows there’s a forward posted in support behind him.
He usually nips transition in the bud, however, thanks to his build and keen instincts. He takes up considerable space when he hugs the wall. He also recognizes when to storm into the pile and when to leverage his long reach to nullify link-up passes:
As a gambler by nature, Burns is taking full advantage of the freedom that Carolina’s structure offers. He can barrel ahead in order to pour additional pressure on opponents until they break.
Imagine fending off the Hurricanes’ voracious offense and then…being forced to defend some more. They don’t rank first in shot attempts and expected goals by accident.
Fatigue is inevitable, and it’s yielded remarkable stats:
Amid its current hot streak, Carolina is recording over TWICE as many high-danger chances and expected goals as the opposition during Burns’ shifts.
The team owns a staggering 77.4% of the goals when he’s on the ice.
Oh, and he isn’t achieving these results against soft competition. The tough minutes on the back end are split between Slavin-Burns and the pairing of Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei:
Nevertheless, Burns is grinding teams to a pulp through sheer volume. They can’t keep pace with what he and his teammates throw at them. Wave after wave of offense, and just when they think they’ve survived the worst of it, he pinches down to pin them right back on their heels.
Good luck trying to catch your breath.
Carolina’s recent playoff runs have been doomed by a lack of offense. The Hurricanes might be writing a different story this year, though.
Over the past two months, they’ve averaged the second-most goals per game in the league. That’s a great sign as we enter the home stretch, and it’s largely due to their elder statesman’s shoot-first, ask-questions-later attitude.