How Andrei Svechnikov and the Hurricanes are winning mental battle with Devils (2025)

Andrei Svechnikov has yet to actually score on Jacob Markstrom in this series — his Game 1 goal was into an empty net — and yet he’s still found a way to win his own personal battle with the New Jersey Devils goalie.

Svechnikov has been at his agitating, antagonistic, irritating, infuriating best in this series, to the Devils in general but Markstrom in particular, to the point where Markstrom so badly wanted to chop down the Carolina Hurricanes forward he hacked one of his own players out of Game 1 with a slash intended for Svechnikov.

Do the Hurricanes need Svechnikov to score, especially with the opposing goalie in net? Absolutely. They haven’t needed him yet, but they will soon enough.

But they also need Svechnikov being so abrasive that the Devils end up taking penalties or even taking out their own teammates.

“That distraction, the first two games, I like it,” linemate Jesperi Kotkaniemi said. “As long as he’s not in the penalty box, we’re all good. I’ll take it.”

And that’s the key. Svechnikov may have zero five-on-five or power-play goals, but he also has zero penalty minutes. So far there’s been a maturity to Svechnikov’s mental maneuvering that perhaps had been lacking. And while Svechnikov hasn’t beaten Markstrom between the pipes, with his Game 1 goal into an empty net, he’s certainly beating him between the ears.

“It’s a long series,” Svechnikov said. “Just have to stay focused. Don’t take penalties.”

Svechnikov’s personal battle with Markstrom is just one of many the Hurricanes are winning in this series as they take a 2-0 lead on the road Friday night. They’re winning the special-teams battle, the even-strength battle, the goaltending battle — although that has more to do with Frederik Andersen’s stellar third periods than any failure on Markstrom’s part — and above all else the depth battle.

The Devils are without their best player, Jack Hughes, and were missing key defensemen Luke Hughes and Brenden Dillon in Game 2. (Neither injury was inflicted by Markstrom; the teammate he slashed, Cody Glass, was able to play Tuesday.) Another defenseman, Jonas Siegenthaler, hasn’t played but practiced Thursday.

With the ability to pick and choose their matchups at home, Sebastian Aho and Jordan Staal’s lines have essentially played the Devils to a draw at even strength, but that’s left a lot of open ice and favorable conditions for Svechnikov, Kotkaniemi and Taylor Hall, who have dominated whatever Devils were left to play against them.

At five-on-five, they’ve posted a 36-12 advantage in shot attempts and 20-5 edge in scoring chances, per Natural Stat Trick, and while that hasn’t translated into production, it has significantly contributed to wearing down the Devils, because not only have they dominated possession, that trio has three big bodies who have dominated physically.

That could change in Newark, when the Devils will be able to keep their best players away from Staal’s line, but Kotkaniemi, Svechnikov and Hall did their part in the first two games — especially Svechnikov against Markstrom, specifically.

“I didn’t really see ‘Svetchy’ do anything crazy,” Staal said. “’Svechy’ runs into us a lot, I’m sure he runs into their guys a lot more. He’s a bull out there. He plays hard, plays physical, and I’m sure that pisses the other team off and I’m sure that’s his end goal and that’s not a bad thing.”

Even Svechnikov said he knows — has learned? — where the line is, and isn’t taking anything for granted.

“It’s too early to say to be honest,” Svechnikov said. “Because every series is different, you know. Some series you got emotions and all that stuff. It’s too early. I don’t want to say. Because next game we might get 10 penalties or something like that.”

Never miss a Luke DeCock column. Sign up at www.newsobserver.com/newsletters to have them delivered directly to your email inbox as soon as they post.

Luke DeCock’s Latest: Never miss a column on the Canes, ACC or other Triangle sports

This story was originally published April 25, 2025 at 5:30 AM.