All seems right in the Hurricanes’ world with Jaccob Slavin back and playing
Any questions about Jaccob Slavin were answered 20 seconds into his first shift Tuesday.
That’s how long it took for the Carolina Hurricanes defenseman to make his first noticeable play against the Nashville Predators, cutting off forward Luke Kunin by the wall at the Carolina blue line. Slavin made the big hit, knocking the puck away from Kunin, and the Canes were quickly skating the other way.
“Welcome back to the series, Jaccob Slavin,” Canes TV analyst Tripp Tracy said with emphasis.
There were 12,000 Canes fans in PNC Arena likely having the same thought. Slavin was badly missed as he was held out of three straight games in the Stanley Cup playoff series with a lower-body injury that had become worrisome.
Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour didn’t try to downplay Slavin’s absence, calling it a “huge” loss. And Brind’Amour wasn’t sure if Slavin would return Tuesday for Game 5 until after the pregame warmup — defenseman Max Lajoie also was dressed and on the ice, if needed.
But all was soon back to normal. Slavin likes to be the last off the ice after the warmup, making a high flip of the puck toward the net from near the bench. He did that Tuesday and soon was on the ice again with Dougie Hamilton, the Canes’ top defensive pairing back together.
With Slavin helping smooth things out on the back end, the Canes won 3-2 in overtime on Jordan Staal’s hard-working goal. Slavin was on the ice to see it, be a part of it, passing to defenseman Brett Pesce for a shot that ended up with Staal whacking a loose puck past goalie Juuse Saros.
“It’s awesome to get back out there and battle with the guys,” Slavin said after the game. “They’ve been battling hard this whole series so far. Watching the games, I don’t like it. I definitely get more nervous watching than being in the action.”
Slavin played 21:25 in Game 1 as the Canes punched out a 5-2 win over the Predators. But the injury that had hampered him late in the regular season kept him out the next three games of the first-round series, including the two marathon double-overtime losses to the Preds in Nashville.
Pesce, Brady Skjei and Hamilton put in a lot of shifts in those two games, Pesce playing almost 80 minutes and Skjei 77. Brind’Amour also turned to Lajoie for the two road games rather than using veteran defenseman Jake Gardiner, who played in Game 2.
Continually asked about Slavin, Brind’Amour always said the same thing: He was waiting for Slavin to tell him he was ready. On Tuesday, he was. He played 10 shifts in each of the three regulation periods in finishing with 26:08 in ice time, and assisted on the Martin Necas wraparound goal in the third period that tied it 2-2.
“He was battling, too,” Pesce said Wednesday. “He’s dinged up a little and the boys really appreciate him coming back and fighting for us.”
Slavin not only had the hit on Kunin but took a few. On his first shift, he held on to the puck behind the Canes’ net and absorbed a hit from Ryan Johansen, passing to Hamilton as the Canes quickly transitioned out of the zone.
“He’s an elite defender and you take that out of anybody’s lineup and it’s going to be missed, big time,” Brind’Amour said.
Brind’Amour has said Slavin did not aggravate his injury by playing in Game 1. His hope now is that Slavin has recovered to the point it no longer will be an issue, saying Wednesday that he expects the same group to play in Game 6.
“Going forward I’m avoiding him,” Brind’Amour said Wednesday. “I want to make sure he gets out there. I don’t want to ask, to be honest with you. He looked great and until I hear otherwise, I’m going to leave him alone.”
An alternate captain, Slavin was not completely pleased with the Canes’ game Tuesday. Neither was Brind’Amour. The Canes showed resilience and refused to lose, but there were some aspects that need to be cleaner and better Thursday in Game 6 in Nashville.
“It wasn’t our best game,” Slavin said. “I think we got away from what makes us successful a little bit there. Obviously (Necas) had a great goal in the third to tie it up. That was huge. But we’ve got to go back to Nashville and play the way that we know how to play.”
Increased attendance
The Canes announced Wednesday there will be an increased capacity of more than 15,000 fans for all remaining home playoff games. PNC Arena installed a 500-ton chiller that will allow the facility to increase air flow while maintaining the integrity of the playing surface.
The Hurricanes worked with Gregory Poole Equipment Company to have the upgrade installed. The equipment was financed in collaboration with the Centennial Authority, which owns and operates PNC Arena.
Carolina Hurricanes vs. Nashville Predators
Game 6, Stanley Cup playoff series.
▪ Thursday, 9:30 p.m.
▪ Bridgestone Arena, Nashville
▪ TV: BSSO (Bally), NBCSN
This story was originally published May 26, 2021 at 1:27 PM.
