HURRICANES ‘; ‘Bad  Night ‘ Leaves Rod Brind’Amour In Desperate Need of “Massive” Turn Of Event…

A ruptured ACL prevented the Canes’ standout winger from playing in the playoffs the previous season.

Andrei Svechnikov, a forward for the Carolina Hurricanes, was forced to watch from a distance as his team lost the Eastern Conference Final to the Boston Celtics in the previous season.

Svechnikov would miss the whole 2023 playoffs due to an ACL tear he sustained two months earlier, and he was greatly missed in a series decided by a single goal.

Regarding the effect of Svechnikov’s absence, Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour described it as “Huge.” “You take one of your best players out of the lineup at this time of the year, that’s tough.”

But that was last year.

This year, Svechnikov is healthy and ready to make an impact in this year’s postseason.

“It was a tough one last year,” Svechnikov said. “I couldn’t play in the playoffs and help the boys. Obviously, now, it’s exciting. It’s been a long season even though I’ve only played about 60 games. We’ve been waiting for this for the last month.”

The Russian winger played in just 59 games this season for Carolina, missing time due to recovering from his offseason ACL surgery, two different oblique injuries as well as illnesses.

However, ‘Svech’ still managed to average nearly a point-per-game with 19 goals and 52 points and ended the regular season on a four-game points streak.

“I feel in the best shape I’ve ever been to be honest,” Svechnikov said. “I feel confident and light on the ice. Now I have to move this confident game to the playoffs. The last five or six games, I’ve just felt pretty good about my game. Just have to stick with that.”

Even beyond getting on the score sheet, Svechnikov brings more elements to the table as well.

He’s one of the Hurricanes’ most physical players and his presence alone causes opponents to have to allocate resources towards covering him.

Even if he isn’t scoring, he’s impactful on the ice and players like him that can wear opponents out both on the boards and in the defensive zone have value.

“Hopefully he continues to be that impact player that he’s been here for the last few games,” Brind’Amour said. “It certainly makes us a better team.”

The fact that he’s also an incredibly talented offensive piece is pretty important too though.