The Russian defenseman had a slow start to the year on the Hurricanes blueline, but has started to find his place.

After a tough start to the season that saw him with a -11 stat line just seven games in, Dmitry Orlov has started to find his stride on the Carolina Hurricanes’ blueline.

In those first seven games, Orlov had the lowest Corsi For Percentage (a measurement of shot attempts for and against while a player is on the ice) of all Canes defensemen and had also been on the ice for seven goals against at even strength and even conceded two shorthanded goals too.

However, in his last five, Orlov has had the third highest Corsi For percentage among Hurricanes defensemen (65.54%) and has not allowed a single goal against at even strength all while being on the ice for three goals for.

“You just always try to make the right read and the more you play, the more confidence you have to make the right decision,” Orlov said.

He even scored his first goal as a Hurricane as part of Carolina’s 4-3 comeback victory over the New York Islanders last Saturday.

“In today’s game, it’s all about getting your defense in on the offense,” said Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour after Saturday’s game. “Nice to see both those guys connect, especially Orlov as the newcomer. I think that was a big weight off his shoulders.”

Funny enough, Orlov’s scoring career is now bookended by the Hurricanes.

Orlov scored his first career goal against the Hurricanes on Jan. 15, 2012, a game-winner against Cam Ward, and now his latest goal comes as a member of the Canes.

Overall, the Russian defender has started to find a bit more comfort on the Canes and feels like he’s starting to fit in with the system

“For sure you need some time to adapt, but at the end of the day, you understand what to do and you just play and have your reads,” Orlov said. “It’s a lot of pressure, a lot of skating in the system and I don’t think that’s a problem to figure out, but sometimes it doesn’t go your way with how you want to do it. But the system is not hard. You just need a little time and I think it’s getting better.”

Orlov has had a steady rotation of partners to start the year, having played primarily alongside either Tony DeAngelo, Jalen Chatfield or Brady Skjei.

But the Russian blueliner hasn’t seemed to mind.

“You just try to read what they do and adapt,” Orlov said. “More talking on the ice. It doesn’t matter who you play with. The more communication you have, the easier it is to play. They’re all good players.”

But while Orlov says he hasn’t minded the rotation, it’s fairly apparent who he’s worked best with.

In the first seven games of the season, Orlov was paired primarily alongside DeAngelo (46:06 of even-strength ice time) and while the pair controlled a 56.12 CF%, they conceded six goals at even strength.

In that same span, Orlov split the rest of his time between Chatfield (23:35) and Skjei (16:52) and conceded zero even-strength goals.

And in his last five games, Orlov has played primarily alongside Chatfield (36:51) and the pair have controlled a 67.24 CF% and have still yet to concede an even-strength goal.

With his steady performance as of late, Orlov has begun to look more and more like the player the Canes acquired in free agency for a hefty $7.75 million AAV price tag, although he still feels there are plenty of areas he can improve in.

“When I’m pinching in the offensive zone, just making sure the puck stays in the zone,” Orlov said when asked what he feels he can still improve on. “Making reads too. Sometimes when I’ve shot, I’ve hit too many bodies. I have to find the better lanes. Sometimes it’s not one-touching it, but it’s making a fake and skating away from the forward who’s on you.”

The Hurricanes are a team that is led from the backend so they’ll need Orlov to continue improving as the season goes along, but if this iteration is an indication of more to come, they’ll certainly be happy with their investment.