For Hurricanes, Game 7 with Bruins could be dream finish or nightmarish end
Nino Niederreiter relishes the thought of being in a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“As a kid you dream about playing these games,” the Carolina Hurricanes forward said Thursday night.
The Game 7 part, for sure. Legends and heroes can be made in Game 7’s. Just ask Justin Williams.
But it’s doubtful that a part of Niederreiter’s dream, or any kid’s dream, would go something like this:
Win the first two games of a best-of-seven series at home, with the idea of finishing things off quickly and neatly. Then, lose three of the next four games. Then, be backed into the position of having to win Game 7 at home to prevent what would be a horribly depressing end to what has been a special, record-breaking season.
“No,” Niederreiter said. “But at end of the day, Game 7, there’s nothing like it.”
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The Canes did not want to be in this win-or-else spot with the Boston Bruins, not after winning the first two games of their series at PNC Arena, both in impressive fashion. After another home win in Game 5, they had the opportunity to come into TD Garden and fully exorcise the demons from past playoffs with Boston and put that all behind them.
But that Bruins demon who wears No. 63, the mercurial Brad Marchand, wouldn’t let it happen. The Bruins’ proud captain, Patrice Bergeron, wouldn’t let it happen. The Bruins took their best shot, as a team, on Thursday and it was more than enough in a 5-2 win that squared the series 3-3.
The Bruins now are headed to Raleigh confident they can win one more game and the series, well aware PNC Arena will be rocking again, aware the Canes are a tough, proud team.
The Hurricanes had a complete-game victory in Game 5. Everyone did their part. But it was just the reverse Thursday as the lineup moves made by Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy clicked and special teams were a difference.
The Canes did dodge one potential nightmare when Sebastian Aho was flattened on an open-ice hit by defenseman Charlie McAvoy. Aho was briefly down on the ice after the clean but hard hit, grabbing his helmet with both hands — a scary sight for the Canes.
“We know how much he means to our team,” defenseman Jaccob Slavin said. “But he’s a tough kid, a warrior.”
Aho was OK. He popped up, skated to the bench and didn’t miss a shift.
“It caught me off-guard,” Aho said of the hit. “It’s playoff hockey. You have to expect those.”
Others pluses for the Canes in a tough loss: Andrei Svechnikov, who can be streaky good, scored twice. And goalie Antti Raanta made his share of tough saves until things became helter-skelter for the Canes in the third and he was under siege. Both could be difference-makers Saturday and the Canes might need them to be.
The Canes, like many teams, have their slogans. There are T-shirts that have “Prove It” on them. There’s a sign in the locker room that says “Earn It.”
All that’s good for motivational reminders, but it comes into play in a Game 7, with everything riding on it. A team must prove it’s good enough, and earn it.
Rod Brind’Amour has been a part of it, as a player and Canes captain and now as their head coach. He remembers the ultimate pressure of Game 7 against the Edmonton Oilers in 2006, with the Stanley Cup awaiting the winner that June night in Raleigh.
“You don’t know how it’s going to work out, but the good news we have another game to play,” Brind’Amour said Thursday.
The Canes, the Metropolitan Division winners, won more games and had more points this season than the 2006 champs. They, too, believe they can contend for the Cup.
But here they are, needing a Game 7 win to advance to the second round.
“It’s Game 7 and anything can happen,” team captain Jordan Staal said Thursday. “We love playing at home in front of our fans and obviously a big boost for us.”
But loud fans won’t be enough. The Canes will need to execute — as they like to say, play “their game.”
“You need everybody,” Staal said. “You need everyone playing detailed hockey and eliminating your mistakes as best you can and just trusting in our game.”
This story was originally published May 13, 2022 at 6:23 AM.
