Hurricanes’ Logan Stankoven a small player with a big game in NHL playoffs
If there was a constant in the Carolina Hurricanes’ 3-0 win over the Florida Panthers on Monday, it was No. 22 flying all over the ice.
Logan Stankoven, the 22-year-old winger, played with a special fury, it seemed, as the Hurricanes won their first game in the Eastern Conference Final after losing the first three to the defending Stanley Cup champions.
“He’s got a lot of heart, obviously,” Canes defenseman Jaccob Slavin said. “He plays a hard, big game. He was a warrior out there.”
Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour has been asked often about Stankoven during the playoffs, about his tenacity and willingness to play tough in the tough areas. He was asked again Monday after the Canes’ morning skate before Game 4.
“He’s very competitive,” he said. “He’s got a good head on his shoulders and obviously is a little guy, but he’s not afraid to get in there.”
And then Stankoven gave the Canes their first lead in the series with a second-period snipe of a goal. It proved to be the winning goal as goaltender Frederik Andersen notched his fifth career playoff shutout with the help of a lot of friends in white.
And Brind’Amour was asked, again, about Stankoven and what more can be said about the 5-foot-8, 165-pound winger who came to Carolina in the March 7 trade with Dallas that sent disgruntled forward Mikko Rantanen to the Stars.
“He’s been great,” Brind’Amour said. “There’s another kid I think is just getting going in his career, obviously, but there’s another level he’s going to get to.”
Stankoven’s goal at 10:45 of the second period came after a crisp cross-ice pass from another rookie, defenseman Alexander Nikishin. Stankoven speaks no Russian and Nikishin very little English, but there was no time for words and they made the connection, Stankoven said.
“It was a great feed from him to make that play off the (Panthers) turnover,” Stankoven said. “It all starts with him.”
Stankoven also scored in the second period of Game 3 to tie the score. It was 1-1 after two periods as the Canes did many of the same things well in the first 40 minutes Saturday that they did in Game 4.
But it all unraveled for the Canes in the third period. The Panthers, a quick-strike, opportunistic team, started forcing turnovers and ripped off five goals in the period for a 6-2 win to grab the 3-0 lead in the series.
Stankoven’s goal Monday gave the Canes a 1-0 lead. Yes, finally, a lead.
“That was a little strange, and obviously a good feeling,” Canes captain Jordan Staal said, grinning. “It’s huge, especially against a team like that. In this league, it’s hard to chase. The way they defend, they make it hard to get chances, so to get the lead was really nice.”
But it would be a night when the Canes made all the right plays and Andersen, calm in net, made the right stops at the right times to take the series back to Raleigh and Lenovo Center for Game 5 on Wednesday.
“It was good to have the lead. We could play on our toes instead of on our heels,” Stankoven said.
Sebastian Aho, who was active all game and had a team-high seven shots, had an empty-net goal to make it 2-0 after the Panthers pulled Bobrovsky for a sixth attacker. Staal added another for the final 3-0 margin.
Stankoven scored twice in the first game of the playoffs against the New Jersey Devils, becoming the second player in franchise history to have a multi-goal game in his playoff debut. He now has five goals and three assists in 14 playoff games.
Stankoven said competing in the playoffs and in the Western Conference final a year ago with the Stars was beneficial for him. It was his first taste of the playoffs, of all that comes with it..
“It’s just being patient,” Stankoven said.”The goals and the points may not come right away. You never know when things are going to open up and you’ll get your chances, so you’ve got to stay ready and bear down on them.”
Stankoven is not a loud, flashy kind of player. He’s not mouthy and combative like Matthew Tkachuk of the Panthers. But he does not back down from anyone, once taking on Tom Wilson of the Washington Capitals after a scrum.
“He’s quiet. He just quietly goes about his business and has been great for us in the playoffs,” Staal said. “He’s got a lot of fight in his game. He’s a tenacious player. He’s a Hurricane through and through.”
This story was originally published May 27, 2025 at 7:00 AM.
