Aho quietly continues to be steadying presence for Hurricanes with Cup in sight

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs, reporters and fans have wondered aloud if Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho was satisfied with his scoring pace in the postseason.

It was no different after Carolina's 4-2 win against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday. Aho scored at 17:51 of the second period to put the Hurricanes ahead 3-1, helping his team to a 4-2 win and a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series.

After the game, a reporter asked the Hurricanes alternate captain, "How does it feel to finally get on the score sheet this series?"

The patient, soft-spoken Finn responded in his usual demeanor.

"It feels good, obviously, but you play for the win," Aho said. "The win feels a lot better."

Game 6 is at T-Mobile Arena (8 p.m. ET; ABC, SN, TVAS, CBC) on Sunday.

To be fair, Aho has set a very high bar. In his 10 NHL seasons, he has led Carolina in scoring eight times, finishing second the other two. His playoff resume is even more remarkable. He is the only NHL player ever to score at least 10 points in each of his first eight playoff seasons. Through 18 games, he has 12 points (five goals, seven assists).

So when Aho had five points (three goals, two assists) in 11 games through Game 3 of Carolina's Eastern Conference Final series against the Montreal Canadiens, hockey watchers were concerned. Since then, however, Aho has seven points (two goals, five assists) in seven games.

His goal in Game 5 came off a pass from defenseman Sean Walker. From below the face-off dot in the right circle, Aho tipped the puck off each of his skates and roofed a shot under the crossbar in a split second.

"That's the reason why Aho is one of the best players in the League, and that's why he has been so successful for so long and in the playoffs," Walker said. "Just unbelievable talent and skill, one of our leaders on the team. When he's playing his game and doing things like that, it's special to watch."

But making sure his full offensive skill set is on display each night is not the foremost consideration for Aho. Pressed on whether his goal on Thursday came with a sigh of relief, he tried to see it from an outsider's perspective. 

"Of course it feels good to score a goal," he admitted. "There's no question about it. But there's a lot more to it. Sometimes a good kill at the right time could be just as important. No question, I try to score every shift basically, but at the same time, you've just got to play the game and trust that you'll get the chances and hopefully you can bury them."

Aho is one of five Carolina players -- along with forwards Jordan Staal, Jordan Martinook, Andrei Svechnikov and defenseman Jaccob Slavin -- who have played each season of Rod Brind'Amour's eight-year coaching tenure. The Hurricanes have won at least one round in the postseason every year and reached the Eastern Conference Final four times. 

"It's about winning games, right? You've got to find ways to contribute," Staal said. "You're not going to score every night, and at times you've got to find ways to slow them down and basically contribute any way you can on both sides of the puck."

Carolina relies on Aho to be a complete player. In 18 playoff games, he is third among Hurricanes forwards in average ice time on the penalty kill (2:24) behind Staal (2:45) and Martinook (2:33). The penalty kill ranks second in the playoffs at 91.2 percent (62-for-68).

At the same time, Aho is a critical member of Carolina's power play. He has six points (one goal, five assists) while averaging 3:57 of ice time during the playoffs.

"I think he has played really well," Brind'Amour said. "He knows he needs to (get on the score sheet). He's playing all the power play. He's getting all that time to cash in. 

"(When you don't score), it doesn't mean you're not playing well. But man, if we can get that out of him, that's a big bonus for our team."

And in Aho's view, winning one more game is now the only thing that matters. 

"It's not finished," Aho said. "Rest and recover here, and we'll be ready."