Hurricanes’ top line arrives, right on time in Game 5 win over Golden Knights
If there ever was a moment when you could visibly witness the weight lift off a person’s shoulders, Thursday night’s Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final provided it.
Actually, it provided two such moments: One at 11:58 of the second period, and another at 17:51 of the same frame.
The first: Andrei Svechnikov’s power play goal — his first of two — that gave the Carolina Hurricanes their first lead of the game.
The second: Sebastian Aho’s goal some six minutes of game time later — his first of the series — that gave the Canes a cushion, and was the winner in a 4-2 Carolina victory.
Beyond the goals’ significance in the game itself, though — and make no mistake, they were of monumental significance — those moments turned a globe of stone to a feather on the players’ backs.
Svechnikov, in particular, drew his coach’s attention.
“I hope this kick-starts him,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We need him scoring goals, like he did tonight.”
Brind’Amour has been vocal about the need for the Canes’ top players to score and produce and play games like they’re the team’s top players. He was during the Ottawa series. He was again after the Philadelphia series, and again during the Eastern Conference Final against Montreal.
The numbers prior to Game 5 back him up.
Aho and Svechnikov had eight combined goals in 17 playoff games.
Also glaring: Aho had just one goal since April 25, after scoring three in the first round against Ottawa. Svechnikov had none in that Ottawa series, and just one in this Stanley Cup Final among his four.
And then, Thursday happened. Two on the power play for Svechnikov, and one for Aho, who visibly celebrated about as hard as he has all season.
Brind’Amour was a bit more positive about it all afterward.
“It hasn’t really happened,” Brind’Amour said of Aho and Svechnikov’s goal production in these playoffs, “and we’re still here. It doesn’t necessarily have to be that way, but they have to have an impact in the game, whether it’s on the scoresheet or doing other things. It certainly makes it a lot smoother if they’re scoring, takes a lot of pressure off the other guys. I guess that’s what happened tonight.”
Inside Svechnikov and Aho’s goals
After Jordan Staal did what he’s been doing all series to tie the game after the first period, Svechnikov went to work, curling up the halfwall as he does so often on the Canes’ power play. Nikolaj Ehlers passed to Shayne Gostisbehere at the point; he dished back to Svechnikov. The big Russian wasted little time.
“That was the kind of shooting mentality, I was just trying to get as quick a shot as possible,” Svechnikov said.
Then it was Aho’s turn.
The Finnish center jumped off the bench on a change after Staal got the puck deep. Jordan Martinook chased it down, won the board battle and relayed the puck back up high to Sean Walker. Walker saw Aho streaking from the bench and fired a seam pass to the low left circle, just off the mark.
No problem for Aho, who kicked the puck to his own stick and, while it remained on edge, roofed it past Vegas goalie Carter Hart for a 3-1 Canes lead.
His celebration after the goal was vociferous.
He needed it, and he knew it.
Brind’Amour has maintained, at least about Aho, that he’s been playing well despite his lack of scoring, saying it again Thursday, almost defiantly.
“He knows he needs to (get on the scoresheet),” Brind’Amour admitted. “He’s playing power play, he’s getting all that time to cash in. It doesn’t mean you’re not playing well, and all playoffs I’ve thought he’s played really well. But man, if we can get that out of him, that’s a big bonus for our team.”
Svechnikov added another on the power play in the third period, on a slick feed from Ehlers on the back door after Gostisbehere drove deep and found Ehlers back at the point. Ehlers threaded the needle to Svechnikov for a near tap-in.
“To be honest, we know what kind of passes Fly can make,” Svechnikov said. “I just work kind of back door, and I knew he was going to make that pass. I just had to stick out my stick there. It was an unbelievable play, like him.”
Hurricanes’ roster depth
A lot has been made in these playoffs about the Canes’ roster depth. In the first part of the playoffs, a line expected to account for the team’s “depth scoring” — Logan Stankoven-Taylor Hall-Jackson Blake — led the way. It continued to do so in Round 2. And in Round 3.
There were signs, here and there: Most recently, when Aho and Svechnikov each scored in Game 4 against Montreal, was that the moment they would awaken?
Turns out maybe it was.
Since then, Aho has at least a point in six of seven games; Svechnikov in five of seven.
And none bigger than the three-goal sequence in game 5 on Thursday.
“(Aho) had a big goal, Svechy, we need him to get going, and he had a huge impact tonight,” Staal said. “Those guys had a big night for us, and hopefully they continue that.”
