Svechnikov, Aho finally had their moments for Hurricanes in Game 5

For as well as the Carolina Hurricanes have played in these playoffs, there was always the sense they had an even higher level to unlock. Coming into Thursday’s Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights, top-line forward Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov had not produced up to expectation, with Aho having 11 points and Svechnikov having nine points in 17 postseason games.

On Thursday, however, Carolina’s top-line duo woke up, which is a frightening development for Vegas. Svechnikov had a two-goal performance, while Aho potted the eventual game-winner, and his first goal of the Stanley Cup Final with a beautiful skate-to-stick finish. If Svechnikov and Aho can maintain this form for Sunday’s Game 6, the Hurricanes could be hoisting their second Stanley Cup in franchise history.

On Friday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk discussed Carolina’s top-line stars finally showing up.

Tyler Yaremchuk: The ‘Canes usual dynamic duo, who had been hush-hush through the bulk of these Stanley Cup Playoffs, and definitely quiet through this Stanley Cup Final, they finally woke up scoring three of Carolina’s four goals in a decisive Game 5 victory.

When you watch this Sebastian Aho beauty, the pass missed Svechnikov, look at this skate-to-stick work by Aho. I think this is one of those things, and I’m not going to sit here and tell you I played hockey at an overly high level, but if you’ve ever had skates on your feet and a stick in your hands, you can look at this play and just go “Yuck, that is gross. That’s disgusting.” To have the coordination to kick this thing from your outside edge right to your own tape, and then to have the power to just fire this thing with nothing more than a flick of your wrists over the shoulder of Carter Hart, this was a beauty.

You can catch the full discussion and the rest of Friday’s episode here…