The Carolina Hurricanes are getting help from all their players in the NHL playoffs. This is important for them if they want to beat the New York Rangers, who won the Presidents’ Trophy.
They finished their series against the New York Islanders on Tuesday. The players who aren’t usually in the spotlight, like Evgeny Kuznetsov, Stefan Noesen, and Jack Drury, played really well in this series.
Coach Rod Brind’Amour said that everyone needs to contribute to win a series.
Kuznetsov, who plays on the fourth line, scored two goals and made two assists in the series. He even scored the first goal of the series and made a penalty shot in Game 5.
Noesen scored three times, starting with the Game 1 winner when he grabbed a loose puck near the goal and beat Varlamov early in the third period.
His last goal came in a strange moment in the third period on Tuesday. He charged down the ice to put away a loose puck that had bounced oddly off the boards on a dump-in toward the corner.
This goal came just eight seconds after Drury, who is 24 years old, scored his first postseason goal. Drury, who also had assists in Games 1 and 2, played as the center for the third line on Tuesday after starting the series as a fourth-line winger.
In Game 5, the Hurricanes twice had two-goal leads and entered the final 20 minutes tied at 3-3. But the goals from Drury and Noesen changed everything, helping Carolina become the first team to win at least one series in six straight postseasons since Detroit did it from 1995-2000.
Defenseman Brady Skjei said, “I think experience probably plays a big factor in that. That experience you rely on, and there’s not too much panic on the bench. We feel confident. And I think those years have really prepared us for this year.”
Last year, the Hurricanes’ playoff run ended in a sweep against Florida in the Eastern Conference Finals. The series had four one-goal games and a combined five overtime periods as the Hurricanes struggled to convert chances.
Having Svechnikov back is helpful after he missed last year’s playoffs with a knee injury. He is a strong and physical forward who plays a big role in Carolina’s aggressive play and had some dominant moments in the Islanders series.
Carolina hopes that by keeping last year’s main players and adding Svechnikov, defenseman Dmitry Orlov in the summer, and Guentzel and Kuznetsov recently, they can go further in the playoffs.
Jarvis said, “Whenever you can get two guys who have experience in the playoffs and you know they’ll perform well in big games, it’s good for your team… And having Svechnikov back in the lineup, I think that’s what we missed a lot last year.”
However, Carolina has some injuries to deal with now. They were mostly healthy at the start of the playoffs, but now key players like Svechnikov and top goalie Frederik Andersen (2022) are sidelined.
Forward Jesper Fast might not play for the rest of the playoffs due to a neck injury. Also, veteran defenseman Brett Pesce got injured in Game 2 and it’s not clear when he’ll be back.
Moreover, Hurricanes defenseman Tony DeAngelo got hurt late in the third period on Tuesday after being slashed by Pierre Engvall. Brind’Amour said DeAngelo had X-rays, but didn’t give details about his condition.
The challenge gets tougher against the Rangers, who ended the regular season with 114 points, the highest in the league. Carolina was three points behind and two behind the Dallas Stars. This makes the second-round series a matchup between two of the top three teams in the league.
According to Bet MGM Sportsbook, Carolina was the favorite to win the Stanley Cup at the start of the playoffs.
This will be Carolina’s first playoff series without home-ice advantage since 2019. This includes the Rangers defeating the Hurricanes in Game 7 of a second-round series in Raleigh in 2022, excluding the 2020 Toronto bubble games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We played well in parts,” Brind’Amour said about defeating the Islanders. “We had one really good game from start to finish. Tonight was good for the most part but there were still areas where I’d like us to improve.
As we look ahead to playing against the Rangers, we’ll need to step up our game if we want to win.”
