Fast, who moved back onto the power play ahead of Game 4, shook off a blown open-net putaway in Thursday's first period to deflect Kotkaniemi's shot past Akira Schmid with the man advantage for his second OT winner of the postseason. If you don't have them, you have no chance.”īrind'Amour has plenty of examples to point at around his locker room. “But it says a lot that these other guys are now getting some credit.

“I don't know how many teams, you miss a whole top line out would be able to chug along the way we are,” Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. Yet the style of play remains, from the aggressive forecheck to win puck battles to maintaining possession to keep the pressure on in the offensive zone and generate chances. Then there was the loss of another top-liner in Teuvo Teravainen to a broken left hand in Game 2 of the Islanders series, which has left him to slowly make his way back to skating recently with a lengthy absence still expected. That has all come despite barely having trade acquisition Max Pacioretty on the ice before he suffered another Achilles tear, as well as losing physical top-line forward Andrei Svechnikov to a season-ending knee injury in March. And going back to a six-game first-round grind against the New York Islanders, Carolina's average scoring is up from 3.20 goals per game in the regular season to 3.64 in the playoffs. That capped a series in which Carolina had a dozen different players find the net - including three times each from forwards Fast, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Martin Necas and Jordan Martinook - while top star Sebastian Aho scored just once.Ĭarolina scored 24 goals in the five games against New Jersey, good for a 4.8 per-game average. The clinching win featured Fast scoring the overtime winner on a deflection after Burns and fellow defenseman Jaccob Slavin scored the two regulation goals.

“We try to be together, we try to stay close and support each other out there. And for our nights when they're going well, it's because they're doing certain things. On the nights things are going well for them, it's because we're doing certain things. 'It's really a five-man group,' Burns said after Thursday's 3-2 overtime win in Game 5 to eliminate the New Jersey Devils.

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