Is missing your star defenseman for over half a season actually a good thing?

Stick with me here.

The Carolina Hurricanes were without defenseman Jaccob Slavin for over half the regular season, but still managed to lock up the second best record in the league.

It wasn't easy, but the Canes proved that their a deep team and were able to overcome the prolonged absence.

And now Slavin is fully back and, according to him, the freshest he's ever felt at this point of the year.

"I didn't play half the season, so the body feels good right now, legs feel good," Slavin said. "I feel fresh and like I only played half a season. Being injured is not easy, but you just don't have the wear and tear on your body like you do when you play 82 games in a year."

The NHL regular season is a seven-month long grind and those miles definitely rack up on the body.

But for Slavin, who only played in 39 games this year, those miles weren't really able to build up.

That's to the tune of around 800 less minutes played, 70 less shots blocked and 50 less hits taken.

Those are major physical tolls for a player to bear with and so for Slavin to go a whole year without that increased burden, perhaps those early injuries were truly was a blessing in disguise.

For one, that supposed "freshness advantage" was certainly on display Saturday.

In Game 1 against the Ottawa Senators, Slavin logged a team high 21:06, including a 4:08 long shift to close the game.

The veteran blueliner played a key role in shutting down the Senators' final push, facing both a 6v5 and 6v4 situation all the way to the end.

And it was his own choice to stay out there to preserve his team's win and Frederik Andersen's shutout too.

"There were some timeouts in there, but that's his time to shine," said Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour. "If he feels like he can stay out there, you're gonna give him the benefit of the doubt."

For Slavin, extra minutes aren't anything new, but if Carolina is able to give him even more this postseason, then that's going to go a long way for this team in their quest for the Cup.

"It was definitely a weird year, but it was one that you just take it as it comes," Slavin said. "But getting into playoffs is what it's all about. If you had told I'd have to go through all that to have the year that we did and then be fresh for the playoffs, might be a pretty easy, 'Yes.'"

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