Will Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin be on the ice for Game 5? Maybe
Jaccob Slavin was on the ice Tuesday morning, tangible progress from the previous three games but not to the point where Rod Brind’Amour felt comfortable saying the essential defenseman would return for Game 5 that night against the Nashville Predators.
HIs Carolina Hurricanes blue-line teammate Jani Hakanpaa, at least, was more optimistic.
“It’s a big thing to get him back tonight,” Hakanpaa said. “He’s an absolute workhorse out there and he leads by example out there. It’s going to be a big thing for us to get him back.”
From the coach’s perspective, the situation really hasn’t changed. Slavin has been a game-time decision for every game of the series, and was able to play in Game 1 but not the next three. That will be the case again tonight, although this time Brind’Amour said Slavin would take warmups, which is a step forward.
“It’s a good sign,” Brind’Amour said. “We’re hopeful. But he’s got to really push it in warmups and we’ll see where he’s at.”
If Slavin can play, either Maxime Lajoie or Jake Bean would come out of the lineup to make way, and Brind’Amour took a moment to complement the play of the two playoff rookies under difficult circumstances. Hakanpaa, while older, is also seeing his first NHL playoff action.
“You’re not replacing that guy (Slavin), no matter who we would add,” Brind’Amour said. “The fact we were throwing rookies in there, young guys who haven’t had any playoff experience, they hung in there. You have to give them credit. They did a great job for us. They gave us a chance to win both games.”
Nedeljkovic slated to start again
Brind’Amour said that there was no reason to change from Alex Nedeljkovic in net despite his heavy workload in Game 3 and 4, facing 97 shots over the two double-overtime losses.
“If he’s a little worn out, a little tired, then you have to think about it,” Brind’Amour said. “But he’s not tired. He played great. There’s really no reason to take him out.”
Only once during the regular season did any of the Hurricanes’ goalies start five straight games: James Reimer, from Jan. 30-Feb. 7 after Petr Mrazek was injured. Nedeljkovic made his first start of the season in the next game, on Feb. 8.
History repeating
When Nashville’s Luke Kunin scored 57 seconds in Sunday and then the winner in double OT, he became the fourth player in NHL history to open the scoring in a playoff game in the first minute and then finish it in overtime.
The most recent prior to Kunin? The Edmonton Oilers’ Fernando Pisani at what was then called the RBC Center in 2006 in a 4-3 win over the Hurricanes. Pisani scored the opener in Game 5 and the short-handed overtime winner to send the series back to Edmonton.
Shots shots shots shots shots
Juuse Saros’ 58 saves on Sunday ranked 25th in NHL history, dating back to 1920. He became the first goaltender to record 50 or more saves in consecutive playoff games since the St. Louis Blues’ Curtis Joseph in Games 1 and 2 of the 1993 Norris Division finals and only the second since 1956.
“We’ve got to be harder on him,” Hurricanes forward Nino Niederreiter said. “He sees a lot of pucks. You have to give their defense some credit. They box out very well. We’ve got to get there.”
This story was originally published May 25, 2021 at 1:07 PM with the headline "Will Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin be on the ice for Game 5? Maybe."
