Hurricanes top line a renewed force against Canadiens in Eastern Final

RALEIGH, N.C. -- It was less than a week ago, after their morning skate ahead of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final, that Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho said, "You want to be at your best for sure and we know we have better in us."

That has started to show.

After two rounds in which the results weren't there for the Hurricanes' top line of Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis -- not that it mattered in sweeps of the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers in the first two rounds -- the puck has started to go in the right direction for the trio, which couldn't have come at a more opportune time.

There was the overtime goal scored by Svechnikov, assisted by Jarvis and with Aho screening Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes, to win Game 3. There was the power play goal by Aho to open the scoring in Game 4. And then Svechnikov iced the win in Game 4 with an empty-net goal with all three members of the line on the ice.

That's each of the past two game-winners, as the Hurricanes have taken a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series, with Game 5 set for Friday at Lenovo Center (8 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC). If they win, they will clinch a spot in the Stanley Cup Final and a date with the Vegas Golden Knights.

"It's been good," Jarvis said of the line's recent upturn in play. "The results haven't been quite as we wanted, but the chances are there. As long as we keep creating momentum that way, keep creating chances for ourselves, we've just got to believe that it's going to go in."

Through the first two rounds, the three were not on the ice together for a single 5-on-5 goal.

But in the series opener against Montreal, the tide started to turn. Jarvis scored 33 seconds in. A pass from Aho bounced off the skates of Svechnikov to Jarvis, and he was able to put the puck past Dobes. It didn't end up mattering in the final score, with the Canadiens overwhelming the rusty Hurricanes in a 6-2 win.

But it marked a step for a line that had done its job defensively while not quite getting the job done offensively.

"For us, it all boils down to work," Jarvis said. "I think when we're all skating, 'Svechy' is using his body, I use my speed, 'Fishy' uses kind of his head, it works as a good trio. I feel like in the tail end of last series and into this series so far, I thought we've done a really good job of just being more assertive offensively and creating chances for ourselves."

They were, after all, three of the most important point producers on the Hurricanes during the regular season. Aho led Carolina with 80 points (27 goals, 53 assists) in 79 games, Svechnikov was third with 70 points (31 goals, 39 assists) in 79 games and Jarvis was fourth with 66 points (32 goals, 34 assists) in 71 games. Jarvis led the Hurricanes in goals, with Svechnikov second.

That's a lot of offensive skill, a lot of scoring ability.

And while ultimately none of the three care if they're the ones that score to get them to the Stanley Cup Final or if they're the ones that score to get them the Cup, they know how crucial they are to the Hurricanes' success. That goes for the rest of this series against the Canadiens and in a possible matchup with the Golden Knights.

They know they will be needed. And the signs of life they've started to show, especially at 5-on-5, are more than welcome.

"I thought last two games have been really good," Aho said. "Honestly, I think we've been playing solid hockey both sides of the puck, scored a couple big goals. But honestly, just play the game the right way and try to win a hockey game.

"Of course you want to score goals every game, obviously. But at the same time, we're playing to win the hockey game here and that's our focus."