MONTREAL — After being nearly a point-a-game producer and eclipsing 30 goals during the regular season as one of the Carolina Hurricanes' leading scorers, Andrei Svechnikov did not have much to show for his first 10 playoff games this spring.
Then came overtime Monday night.
Svechnikov's goal to win Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Montreal Canadiens was just his second of the postseason and fifth point, and it gave Carolina a 2-1 series lead. It was a much-needed moment for the 26-year-old Russian winger.
“It’s the most important time of my life right now — of our life as a team — and you’ve got to get on the scoresheet somehow,” Svechnikov said. “I think we’re just playing good as a line. We’re creating a lot, and (in Game 3) we create lots of chances.”
Carolina's top line of Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis had not been producing in the playoffs. The trio of Taylor Hall, Jackson Blake and Logan Stankoven was chiefly responsible for the offense that got the Hurricanes through the first two rounds unbeaten with a pair of sweeps.
But after nearly tripling the Canadiens in shots, they cashed in when it mattered most.
“It’s awesome,” said defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, who opened the scoring with his first goal of the playoffs. “Those guys built the foundation of this team, and they carried us this whole season. It’s nice to see them, obviously, get the results that they’ve been working hard for.”
Especially Svechnikov, whom teammates consistently tell to shoot.
“He’s the strongest guy on the ice, and when he’s playing a power forward role is when he’s his best,” Gostisbehere said. “We always say, ‘Just go be an animal out there -- smartly.’”
Coach Rod Brind'Amour, who has overseen eight consecutive playoff appearances since taking over and was captain when the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup in 2006, was not unhappy with the way Svechnikov was playing. It was hard to be upset with too much, given nine wins in 10 games. But Monday night could still serve as a turning point.
“Hopefully it jumpstarts him getting on the scoresheet,” Brind'Amour said. “He’s been a factor — just not scoring. You’re not going to advance if you don’t get production out of your top guys, obviously, so it was great to see that.”
Being a factor means hitting and physicality. Svechnikov is third on the team with 46 hits, and part of the recipe in the East final is laying the body on undersized Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson and his teammates.. Svechnikov is taking that to heart.
“I don’t want to really talk about it, but that’s what we try to do,” he said. “Just finish the checks, obviously, and hopefully they’re going to turn the puck over or ice the puck and we get the offensive faceoff and all that stuff. We always try to finish our checks.”
Finishing on offense matters, too. Aho was pleased with how the line was playing, and it paid off just over 14 minutes into overtime.
“We could have scored more than one goal, but it’s just the way it goes and we know more goals are coming for us,” Svechnikov said.
