Svechnikov arrives in series for Hurricanes
Could this be Andrei Svechnikov's moment to turn around his series? The forward, who was the Hurricanes' second-leading scorer during the regular season with 69 points (30 goals, 39 assists) in 78 games. But he didn't have a point in the first four games of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the New York Rangers, and had gone without a point since Game 6 against the Boston Bruins in the first round, when he scored two goals. In Game 5 against New York, Svechnikov forced a turnover by Adam Fox and scored on the resulting breakaway at 13:01 of the third period to give the Hurricanes a 3-1 lead. "We hope," coach Rod Brind'Amour said of a potential turnaround. "That's a huge goal at the right time. I don't know that he was playing lights-out up to that point. But that kind of player has that ability to, out of nowhere, make something happen and that's what happened there." -- Amalie Benjamin, staff writer
Rangers can't let Hurricanes dictate pace
If the Rangers want to return to Raleigh for Game 7, they have to control the pace from the start of Game 6 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. The Hurricanes played at their pace and dictated everything in Game 5. The Rangers had little pushback because they rarely had the puck. When they did, they couldn't do anything with it, a failing caused by a combination of their ineffective play and the Hurricanes' aggressive forecheck and ability to turn the neutral zone into a traffic jam that nobody on the Rangers could navigate with speed. To win Game 6 at home, the Rangers need to be the aggressors and play like they did for most of Game 4 on Tuesday, when they were in sync, supported each other, connected on passes and forced the Hurricanes to play on their heels instead of their toes. They got through the neutral zone in Game 4 and won 4-1. If they can't do it in Game 6, there likely won't be a Game 7. -- Dan Rosen, senior writer
Smith continues to be an adventure in goal for Oilers
Mike Smith didn't allow a goal from 132 feet in Game 5 of the Western Conference Second Round, like he did during the third period of Game 4, and the Oilers were able to eliminate the Flames in overtime. Still, Smith allowed four goals on 36 shots. The Flames clearly were firing shots from all angles for a reason, and he almost made two more third-period gaffes. He played the puck behind the net right to Flames forward Blake Coleman, who rang a shot off the post at 5:01 that could have given Calgary a 5-4 lead. Then at 14:03, a shot fell behind him after it went in off Coleman's skate, appearing to give Calgary a 5-4 lead, but the goal was disallowed after it was ruled that Coleman kicked in the puck. Smith had a 3.40 goals-against average and .907 save percentage in five games against the Flames. How might he fare against the Colorado Avalanche or St. Louis Blues in the Western Conference Final? -- Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist
Disorganized Flames have much to ponder
It's rare that a Darryl Sutter-coached team is plagued by a lack of structure, but that was the case for the Flames in their second-round loss the Oilers. Calgary will have an entire offseason to ponder what went wrong, but defensive lapses played a huge part. During one 45-second shift in the second period, the Flames committed five defensive-zone turnovers against the Oilers top line, centered by Connor McDavid. Cue the recipe for disaster. The Flames never could get their cycle game going during the series, something they were known for in the regular season. Calgary also has the identity of being a north/south team but never could establish a consistent forecheck against the Oilers. Sutter was the coach of the 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings and was known for leading teams governed by sound structure. That wasn't the case against the Oilers. -- Mike Zeisberger, staff writer
