Who’s stopping the Canes’ Andrei Svechnikov? Right now, only the NHL All-Star break
Most of the Carolina Hurricanes’ players scattered in different directions Monday, looking for a little rest and relaxation during the NHL All-Star break.
Some, like Andrei Svechnikov, are headed to warmer climes, and will be in Florida. Vincent Trocheck said he would head back home to Pittsburgh to see family and then go from there. The plans are many and varied.
But one thing is clear: Coach Rod Brind’Amour wants them away from hockey for a bit.
“I need them to get away from the game,” Canes coach Brind’Amour said Sunday. “They need to get a mental break because we push pretty hard.”
Brind’Amour himself won’t be getting away: He’s coaching the Metropolitan Division team in the 2022 NHL All-Star Game, and will be in Las Vegas this week. He’ll also have goalie Frederik Andersen and center Sebastian Aho on his Metro team for Saturday’s competition at T-Mobile Arena.
Patching the brick wall
Andersen said Sunday after the Canes’ 2-1 win over San Jose that he was looking forward to some better weather in Las Vegas, would go out a few days early and planned to take his golf clubs with him.
“It’ll be good to swing the clubs a little bit,” he said.
If he swings them as well as he has handled the crease and his goalie stick, Andersen should be fine. He’ll go to Vegas with 24 wins this season, tied for the NHL lead with Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy through Sunday’s games. His 2.02 goals-against average ranks first among goalies who have played 20 or more games.
“He has been a brick wall back there,” defenseman Jaccob Slavin said.
Svechnikov on fire
Svechnikov, 21, was not selected for the All-Star Game this season, but few players go into the All-Star break more torrid than the Canes’ power forward.
Svechnikov had a streak of five consecutive multi-point games end Thursday against the Ottawa Senators, but his shootout goal won that road game, 3-2. He then had the winning goals against both New Jersey and San Jose in the weekend back-to-back at PNC Arena to propel the Canes into the break with a four-game win streak, a 31-9-2 record, and the Metro lead.
“You obviously want to get points but you don’t want to think about that,” Svechnikov said. “You just want to go and play your hardest game and you’re going to get success always.
“I feel like I’m confident in myself. When you’re confident, you skate well, you pass it well, you’re shooting well. Obviously I’ve been working hard and that’s one of the goals of mine. Just work hard and you’re going to be successful, for sure.”
Successful? Svechnikov had seven goals and nine assists in the Canes’ 12 games in January, pushing his season totals to 16 goals and 22 assists in 39 games.
“You know this kid. You don’t have to do anything with this guy,” Brind’Amour said Sunday. “You just tell him where to be and what time the game is ... He wants to win and he’s competitive. Sometimes, maybe a little too much but I think he’s figuring that out.
“Is he just starting and going to get better? Yeah. It’s hard to believe, but I think he can still get better.”
Svechnikov has learned to handle himself better, both in his defensive zone work and with his temperament during games.
“I think in the D zone once I get the puck I make decisions really quick I don’t lose the puck in the D zone,” Svechnikov said. “Once you’re playing good D you’re always going to have your chances.”
As for his on-ice demeanor, Svechnikov is the kind that if an opponent rattles his cage, he has been more than willing to strike back, often landing him in the penalty box — his 51 penalty minutes are a team high.
Svechnikov didn’t back down Sunday when shoved from behind near the Canes bench in the first period. He wheeled around and quickly engaged the Sharks’ Jeffrey Viel, the two players grappling and then falling through an open door at the Sharks bench in a brief dust-up.
Both were penalized for roughing -- Viel for four minutes. But Svechnikov has learned to pick his spots better and has been wiser about opponents trying to irritate him and throw him off his game.
Svechnikov also has become a more complete 200-foot player. During the Ottawa game, the Senators’ Brady Tkachuk had a partial breakaway in overtime. But Svechnikov skated back hard to get his stick on Tkachuk’s stick and hinder his shot, helping Andersen make the stop. The Canes won the shootout on Svechnikov’s goal for the extra point.
“His game has kind of gone above and beyond,” Canes defenseman Brett Pesce said last week. “It’s not just scoring. He can do everything. If it’s a gritty game he’s a guy leading the pack for us with hits and physicality.
‘You don’t see that too often in a player, especially with his skill. That makes him even more special.”
This story was originally published February 1, 2022 at 8:00 AM.
