Game 7 is the perfect setting for heroes to emerge.
The Carolina Hurricanes host the New York Rangers in Game 7 of the second round of the Eastern Conference on Monday (20:00 ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS). It’s the next opportunity for a player to put himself in the spotlight and consolidate his place in NHL history.
It happened several times in the first round. Artemi Panarin scored in overtime to help the Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins. Johnny Gaudreau finally settled on Dallas Stars goalkeeper Jake Oettinger to help the Calgary Flames advance to the second round. Connor McDavid crowned a brilliant first-round pick with a goal and an assist in the Edmonton Oilers’ 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings. Max Domi scored two goals and one assist for the Hurricanes in the 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins. Nick Paul scored two goals in Tampa Bay Lightning’s 7-game win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
So who will play the hero on Memorial Day?
[RELATED: Complete Hurricanes vs. Rangers series coverage]
We asked eight NHL.com writers for their candidacy. Here they are in alphabetical order:
Sebastian Aho, Hurricanes
My logic here is simple: Carolina was 29-8-4 at home in the regular season and 7-0 there in the Stanley Cup playoffs. At home in the regular season, Aho led the Hurricanes with 43 points (14 goals, 29 assists). He also led them with six winning goals. At home in the playoffs, Aho leads Carolina with four goals, and is one of seven of his players with a winning goal. – Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist
Video: NYR @ CAR, Gm1: Aho charges his own rebound
Seth Jarvis, Hurricanes
Players are growing rapidly in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Meet striker Seth Jarvis, the 20-year-old who has opened his eyes for the first 13 games of the postseason with the maturity of his game. The rookie has been a revelation all season with 40 points (17 goals, 23 assists) in 68 games, and has not cooled in the playoffs with eight points (three goals, five assists). There have been a number of games this postseason in which Jarvis has been one of the Hurricanes’ best ice strikers, and that won’t change on Monday. – Shawn P. Roarke, Senior Editorial Director
Artemi Panarin Rangers
The striker has not been a major factor so far in the series, with three points (one goal, two assists) and nine shots on goal in six games. Each of these points has come home, but Panarin has shown that a goal can erase the past failures of a series. He scored in overtime against the Penguins to send the Rangers into the second round and has a point in three of those four playoff games with New York ahead of the playoffs. Panarin will have a big impact on Game 7. – David Satriano, staff writer
Antti Raanta, hurricanes
In a series that has certainly had its ups and downs, I go with Hurricanes goalkeeper Antti Raanta, who was retired and replaced by Pyotr Kochetkov in the second period of a 5-2 defeat in the 6th game. at Madison Square Garden. Prior to the defeat, Raanta had an average of 1.60 goals against and a savings rate of .937 with a target in the first five games of this series. He is 3-0 with a GAA of 0.66 and a saving percentage of 0.970 in three home games against the Rangers and will return there for a possible redemption against his former club (2015-17) in the 7th game on Monday. – Mike G. Morreale, staff writer
Igor Shesterkin, Rangers
We don’t think about it too much. The Rangers have been one of the toughest teams in the NHL all season. They play their best against the wall. They are 4-0 up in the playoffs. Because? Because of his goalkeeper. The fact that New York has not beaten Raleigh even though this series matters little now. The Rangers have Shesterkin and have been at their best in the last nine games, including a .925 savings percentage in four must-see games. If you have to count on a player to make a difference in a game 7, go with the player who has arguably been the biggest difference maker for his team this season than anyone in the NHL. It must be Shesterkin. – Dan Rosen, senior writer
Video: CAR @ NYR, Gm4: Shesterkin saves the pad for Sharp
Jordan Staal, hurricanes
If history has taught me anything (and for history’s sake, I’m talking about former Detroit Red Wings striker Darren Helm, who scored the winning goal for the Colorado Avalanche against the St. Louis Blues). in the sixth game on Friday), is to go there. a player who has arrived on the big stage before. So, give me Staal. The veteran striker has six points (one goal, five assists) in the playoffs so far and Staal, who won the Stanley Cup with the Penguins in 2009, knows what it takes right now. He has 60 points (33 goals, 27 assists) in 120 NHL playoff games. He will add another or two critical points to that total in Game 7, and will play a suffocating defense against Rangers center-back Mika Zibanejad. – Tracey Myers, staff writer
Andrei Svechnikov, hurricanes
Aside from his fleeting goal in Game 5, Svechnikov had a quiet series. The 22-year-old has to come out with a great game 7. Svechnikov was second in the Hurricanes behind Aho with 30 goals and 69 points during the regular season. That included five winning goals. Svechnikov’s 16 shots on goal in the series are second to Carolina behind Vincent Trocheck’s 18. The record will end for him. – Tom Gulitti, staff writer
Teuvo Teravainen, hurricanes
It was only four days ago that Teravainen scored the winner of the match in the fifth match to put the Hurricanes to a victory in the Eastern Conference final. Why leave what works? Teravainen has been a master at home in these playoffs and has a point in each of Carolina’s victories. It is the third-longest home points streak in the franchise’s history, behind Cory Stillman (13 games) and Eric Staal (eight), each during the Hurricanes’ 2006 Stanley Cup race. adds 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in the playoffs, draws Staal by extending his streak of points to eight games and becomes the hero of Game 7 in the process. – Amalie Benjamin, writer