Hurricanes’ Taylor Hall Returning to Hart Trophy Form

Taylor Hall has been just unbelievable for the Carolina Hurricanes. A sidepiece that came to Carolina in the Mikko Rantanen trade, Hall has been an incredible fit for the team, and he’s helping two young kids drag the Hurricanes through playoff rounds, even when the top line falls silent. The leader of the Hurricanes pack, Hall has three goals and nine assists for 12 points in eight games. He’s scoring at a 1.5 points-per-game pace. That’s a 123-point regular-season pace in 82 games.

The Calgary, Alberta, native looks like the player he was when he won the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player, as voted by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. That is the level Hall has been playing to in this postseason, and he’s doing it with two linemates who are children. That second line is the best in hockey right now, and the straw stirring the drink is Hall.

Underlying Numbers

According to Natural Stat Trick, Hall is second on the Hurricanes in expected goals for per 60 (xGF/60) among players who have played more than 10 minutes. He’s second to Logan Stankoven, and just ahead of Jackson Blake, so it really is that line that has been the driving force for Caroina. Hall’s xGF/60 is 4.61. What does that mean? If he played 60 minutes of ice time, you’d expect the Hurricanes to score four or five times. That’s unbelievably good.

He’s been good offensively; has he met the standard defensively? Well, his expected goals against per 60 (xGA/60) is also the second best on the team, to Stankoven again. Hall would be expected to give up 1.82 goals per 60 minutes of ice time. That line has given up one goal all postseason. Some of that is the superb play of Frederik Andersen, but they’ve been great in every zone.

Even if we turn to MoneyPuck, that line has an xGF/60 of 4.63. That’s the best of any line in the playoffs that has played at least 50 minutes as a trio. They’ve been just dominant, and they are the driving force for the position that the Hurricanes find themselves in. If the trio has been great, why is it Hall that I want to focus on? Stankoven’s got all the goals, Blake got the series winner against the Philadelphia Flyers, so why focus on Hall?

The Play Driver

Hall has been the architect for Carolina’s second line. Everything they’ve done so well has been driven by the 2018 Hart Trophy winner. Look no further than Game 4 against Philadelphia. Carolina’s second line put up all three goals to eliminate the Flyers. The second goal was a Stankoven tap-in at the backpost after he did well to get away from Alex Bump in the slot. But who created that by blasting past his defender on the wing and getting it across the crease away from the goaltender? It was Hall.

Even if we shift ahead to the overtime series winner, Hall doesn’t get tunnel vision on Stankoven crashing the net to force the same play that scored the second goal. He picks out the trailer behind the play with more time and space. Blake gets a little luck with the shot, bouncing off Dan Vladar’s glove and in, but Hall makes it all happen by making the smart pass. Hall is thinking the game so well right now, and his hockey IQ, combined with his experience in the NHL, is helping that line flourish. He’s seeing the game in slow-motion while continuing to be one of the fastest players on the ice.

Can It Be Sustained?

Eastern Conference Final appearances in the past haven’t always gone according to plan for the Hurricanes. If this is going to be different, Hall must be the driving force again. He cannot be the only driving force, but he must continue his success. He’s seeing the ice so well, and this prolonged break because of the Hurricanes’ efficiency in dispatching their opponents isn’t going to help. He’ll have wanted to stay on the ice where he can keep his brain sharp, but the rest will help Carolina be healthier for the third round.

This should not be taken to mean that Stankoven and Blake’s success is the result of Hall’s dominance; all three deserve credit. There has not been a passenger on that line, and all three have contributed to that unit’s success. It is just that Hall is the driving force, and you can see it reflected in his point totals. The game has been simple for him through eight games. If he keeps that up, the Hurricanes have a great shot in the Conference Final. Can he sustain it? We’ll find out.