Carolina Hurricanes: Three Players to Ensure Victory Over the Rangers

2. Sebastian Aho

The Carolina Hurricanes star forward will be the offensive crux.

This may seem like an obvious one because it is. Sebastian Aho is the best player on the Carolina Hurricanes and in the playoffs, you want your best players to be your best players. And in 16 career games against the Rangers, Aho only has nine points (six goals and three assists). He also has the worst plus/minus against the Rangers than any other opponent.

It is safe to say he doesn’t have a good history against the Rangers. That needs to change. We need to see a locked in Sebastian Aho. And Aho can have a leg up on players in terms of pure talent when rust can become a factor due to the extended period of time missed.

Exhibition games can only do so much to knock the rust off especially when you are going right into fighting for the playoffs. Aho and other top players will be relied upon heavily in this series.

If Aho is going, that means players like Teuvo Teravainen and Andrei Svechnikov are also going. Hopefully, they are on a line to start because I feel that it would be advantageous to get the most out of Aho. This line has proven to be one of the best in the league because the chemistry the three of them have isn’t seen by many lines in the NHL. Aho would most definitely benefit from being on the SAT line yet again.

Another thing is to get Aho hot right off the bat would be beneficial for the Hurricanes. To have one of your best players ready to play and playing at a high level is needed for a deep playoff run.