The Carolina Hurricanes have been one of the better teams in the NHL so far this season. However, one of their top players has had the exact opposite sort of start. Andrei Svechnikov has struggled mightily this year. And it’s caught the attention of coach Rod Brind’Amour.
Svechnikov has been one of the team’s most important players over the last few years. But he entered play Tuesday night without a goal in eight games. More than this, he had not recorded a point in those contests, either.
The Hurricanes took on the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night. Before that contest, though, Brind’Amour zeroed in on Svechnikov. Carolina’s coach demanded more from the former second-overall pick.
“Well, he needs to be a little more impactful, shift in, shift out,” Brind’Amour said, via The Athletic. “He’s certainly shown signs of it. The consistency, it’s kind of, you know, he disappears a little bit sometimes. So we’ve got to just get him on track, and we’ll get him dialed in.
“We’re gonna need him. We talked about what we’re at the end (in the playoffs). You gotta have everybody contributing, otherwise it’s not gonna work.”
Andrei Svechnikov Remaining Positive Despite Struggles
Luke Hales/Getty ImagesCarolina Hurricanes star Andrei Svechnikov has been held without a point through eight games.
Svechnikov is certainly no slouch on the ice. He is a five-time 20-goal scorer who has a 30-goal season under his belt, as well. The Hurricanes star has struggled with injuries, which have impacted his play at times. When he’s healthy, though, he has shown to be a consistent goal scorer.
Perhaps this track record is why Svechnikov is remaining positive. He recently joked with reporters about not breaking a stick yet this year. And he explained why he always tries to keep a positive mindset despite the negative circumstances surrounding his play.
“You stay positive. If you go negative, then it’s going to get worse and worse. So I try to stay positive. It’s fine. Maybe for some it’s a bigger deal, but for me, it’s not that big of a deal. I’ve been there — maybe not in the start of the year, but I’ve been there many times, so it’s fine, totally fine,” the Hurricanes star said, via The Athletic.
Hurricanes’ Svechnikov Finally Scores First Goal
Brind’Amour’s words may have worked on the former second-overall pick. As mentioned, Carolina faced the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night. And it was Svechnikov who opened the scoring in the first period.
Unfortunately, that goal may have been the highlight of Carolina’s night. The Golden Knights took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. After Jordan Martinook scored to tie the game, Vegas exploded for four goals in the third period. They claimed a huge 6-3 victory away from home on Tuesday.
The Hurricanes started off well, winning each of their first five games. However, they have now lost three of their last four games. Carolina holds a record of 6-3-0 after the loss to the Golden Knights. They will attempt to bounce back on Thursday night when they take on the New York Islanders.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Andrei Svechnikov Under Fire as Hurricanes Coach Demands More appeared first on Heavy Sports.