Is Hurricanes’ Andrei Svechnikov turning a corner this postseason?

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NEWARK, N.J. — Potential is a fickle thing.

When the Carolina Hurricanes selected Andrei Svechnikov with the No. 2 pick in the 2018 draft, he was immediately anointed a franchise cornerstone, a key piece in new owner Tom Dundon and recently named coach Rod Brind’Amour’s plan to make the franchise relevant again.

It was a slow build for Svechnikov, who improved each of his first four seasons and had the makings of a throwback power forward — a player who could dictate the result of a game with his size, speed or skill.

From scoring the first lacrosse goal in NHL history and winning the All-Star Weekend’s Fastest Skater competition to delivering a series-altering hit on the Boston Bruins’ Hampus Lindholm in the 2022 playoffs, Svechnikov was well on his way. Even his unsuccessful bout against Alex Ovechkin in his third career playoff game as a rookie in 2019 showed a fearlessness every team is looking for in an era without many rough-and-tumble skill players.

But a knee injury in March 2023 sent Svechnikov’s rise in the opposite direction, and more injuries and inconsistencies threatened to turn his promise into disappointment.

After 20 goals and 48 points this regular season, Svechnikov entered the playoffs at a crossroads: a potential star searching for the game that previously made him one of hockey’s most intriguing players.

And that made this postseason a particularly important one for Svechnikov. The Hurricanes have tried in recent seasons to add superstar talent. Pursuits of Timo Meier, Matthew Tkachuk and Elias Pettersson came up short. The acquisitions of Jake Guentzel and Mikko Rantanen ended with each choosing to sign epic deals with other teams.

It’s not that Carolina doesn’t have impact players. Sebastian Aho is tied with Guentzel for the 11th-most goals in the league since the start of the 2018-19 season. Jaccob Slavin is widely considered hockey’s best defensive defenseman. And Seth Jarvis is emerging as a two-way force on top of being one of the game’s best personalities.

But there’s a difference between Jari Kurri and Wayne Gretzky, a gap from Ron Francis to Mario Lemieux. Some players help you win a Cup. A select few drag you, kicking and screaming, to one.

While Svechnikov isn’t in the same stratosphere as any of those players, he is the type of unique talent who can dominate a shift, a game and a series — even an entire postseason.

“He needs to be a factor,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said before the start of the series, “if we want to reach the ultimate goal.”

And much in the same way that Svechnikov methodically improved in his first handful of NHL seasons, the 25-year-old has done the same through four games of Carolina’s first-round series with the Devils.

He had seven high-danger chances through the series’ first three games, totaling 21 shot attempts, seven shots on goal and 11 scoring chances. But all he had to show for it was an empty-net goal and power-play assist.

“I feel like that’s the most important thing,” Svechnikov said of generating opportunities to score during a practice day before Game 3. “If you’re getting chances, that means you’re playing good, and that’s what we’ve been doing. … We’ve just got to keep doing that, and it’s going to come. We don’t worry about that.”

Brind’Amour, who spends much of the regular season preaching process over results, has changed his tone this postseason.

“They haven’t really been on a score sheet,” Brind’Amour said Thursday of Svechnikov’s line with Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Taylor Hall. “So that’s what it’s about this time of year.”

For Sunday’s Game 4, Brind’Amour moved Svechnikov to the top line, centered by Aho and opposite rookie Jackson Blake, hoping that “mixing things up a little bit gives the guys a little wake-up call.”

And after three games of pestering Jacob Markstrom — leading to the Devils’ goalie accidentally slashing teammate Cody Glass in Game 1, scrambling around his crease to again try to get at Svechnikov in Game 2 and continuing his pursuit of retribution in Game 3 — Svechnikov pounced on Sunday, scoring in the opening minute of the first and second periods before sealing Carolina’s 5-2 Game 4 win with an empty-net goal and his second career postseason hat trick.

“I love those moments,” Svechnikov said of his back and forth with Markstrom. “I love every second of that. I just love those little dirty moments and playing physical.”

It also showed just how much of a difference-maker Svechnikov can be.

“That first goal is huge for him,” Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal said of Svechnikov’s goal 52 seconds into Game 4. “He’s obviously been up and down this year, and one just sneaks in for him. And you can tell — I know the feeling. It goes in and you just start feeling more confident, you start finding holes, and the game slows down a little bit.”

YEAH SVECH! YEAH SVECH! pic.twitter.com/oSbZQHOSvA

— x – Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) April 27, 2025

Svechnikov later spun to the front of the net on the power play at the start of the second period, getting his stick on Jarvis’ shot pass to flutter the puck into the net at the far post for his second goal of the game.

But perhaps most importantly for Svechnikov, he’s avoided being baited into the type of penalties he’s taken too frequently in recent seasons. Throughout the series, Markstrom has unsuccessfully tried to goad Svechnikov into retaliating, instead becoming distracted himself. Dougie Hamilton — Svechnikov’s close friend during their time together in Raleigh — spent a portion of Game 1 trying to draw a reaction out of his former teammate.

And after Meier collided with Frederik Andersen and knocked him out of Game 4, Svechnikov — who was at the crease and bumped into the Devils forward before the contact — didn’t look for revenge in what quickly became a one-goal game.

“We know in a game you’re leading … that we don’t need any fights or anything, any more penalties,” Svechnikov said after the win. “And we just tried to stay focused and try to play our game.”

Svechnikov’s propensity for taking bad penalties in the past has given him a reputation among officials that has led to him seemingly never getting the benefit of the doubt — whether it’s him being called for a ticky-tack penalty or not drawing calls to the point of him openly laughing on the ice after being tripped or high-sticked.

But in this series, the start of a pivotal moment in Svechnikov’s career, he’s seemingly matured overnight — and people in the Hurricanes’ organization have noticed. Aside from an ill-advised defensive zone pass in Game 4, his decision-making has been mostly flawless. He’s starting to turn chances into results. And Svechnikov is relishing the intensity and competition of the postseason without falling victim to the mind games that have often gotten the best of him.

“It was kind of a hard season for me, but right now, in playoff time, it’s kind of my time,” Svechnikov said after Game 4. “I love this time of the year. I love playing a physical game and just trying to do everything that’s going to help my team win the games.”

And if the Hurricanes are going to finish off the Devils and finally take another step forward in their pursuit of the Stanley Cup, Carolina will need that Andrei Svechnikov.

“He was steady with the puck and not forcing much and just playing Svechnikov hockey,” Staal said, “and we’re gonna need him to keep doing that and be the player that we all know he can be.”

(Photo: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)

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