RALEIGH — The Carolina Hurricanes have won six straight playoff games to start the postseason, including Monday night’s Game 2 overtime victory against Philadelphia.
But coach Rod Brind’Amour isn’t satisfied with his team’s play.
“There’s another level we’re going to have to get to, and it’s there for us,” Brind’Amour said Tuesday. “I think that’s kind of the takeaway. We’re getting by, we’re finding ways to get a win. It wasn’t a bad game by any stretch, but I think there’s another level we’re going to have to find.”
Philadelphia hosts Carolina for Game 3 of their second-round playoff series Thursday. Carolina leads the series 2-0 after Monday’s 3-2 come-from-behind overtime win. It was the first game in which the Hurricanes have trailed this postseason, which began with a four-game sweep of Ottawa.
The most obvious for improvement is with the Hurricanes’ top regular-season scorers. While the second line of Taylor Hall, Jackson Blake and Logan Stankoven has been exceptional — 11 goals and 13 assists in six games, including Hall’s game-winner on Monday — Carolina is still looking for more from its top line.
Seth Jarvis, the team’s top goal scorer in the regular season, got his first of the postseason in Game 2 after a midgame switch to a line with Nikolaj Ehlers and Jordan Staal.
“We know how much he cares,” Brind’Amour said. “He wants to be the difference every game, every shift. There was probably a little weight I’m hoping lifted off him to just go out and just keep playing because we know how valuable he is to us. So hopefully that springboards him a little bit and gets him feeling good about his game.”
Ehlers, second on the team in regular season points (71), also scored his first goal of the postseason in Game 2.
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Jarvis had been playing with Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov, a line that’s been struggling offensively in the postseason. Aho, the team’s leader in points, has three goals, including two empty netters, and no assists in the playoffs. Svechnikov has no goals and one assist in the postseason after scoring 31 goals in the regular season.
Brind’Amour said assistant coach Jeff Daniels pushed for the change, swapping Jarvis with Jordan Martinook, midgame after they’d discussed it beforehand.
“Jeff said we’ve got to do it now,” Brind’Amour said.
It worked, though Brind’Amour was quick to point out that it doesn’t always happen that way.
The Hurricanes had seven players with 20 or more goals in the regular season. That’ll be the way they attempt to navigate 10 more postseason wins.
“We’ve got to rely on everybody,” Brind’Amour said. “We knew that coming in. That’s how we operate. It’s not oh, that guy’s going to be the difference, it could be anyone.”
Brind’Amour said defenseman Alexander Nikishin, who has missed the first two games of the series after suffering a concussion in Game 4 against Ottawa, has been cleared to play in Game 3 against Philadelphia.
Hurricanes postseason scoring leaders
Taylor Hall 9 points (3 goals, 6 assists)
Jackson Blake 8 points (2 goals, 6 assists)
Logan Stankoven 7 points (6 goals, 1 assist)
Seth Jarvis 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists)
K’Andre Miller 4 points (4 assists)
Nikolaj Ehlers 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists)
Sebastian Aho 3 points (3 goals)
Hurricanes regular-season scoring leaders
Sebastian Aho 80 points (27 goals, 53 assists)
Nikolaj Ehlers 71 points (26 goals, 45 assists)
Andrei Svechnikov 70 points (31 goals, 39 assists)
Seth Jarvis 66 points (32 goals, 34 assists)
Jackson Blake 53 points (22 goals, 31 assists)
