Playoff Notebook: An Opportunity To Shut The Door

RALEIGH, NC. -Back home after splitting a pair of games in Newark, the Carolina Hurricanes will now have the chance to close out their second-round series against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday.

Only the team's extras and Black Aces skated on Wednesday, but Jordan Martinook, Jalen Chatfield, and Rod Brind'Amour met with the media ahead of tomorrow's Game 5.

It Really Is A Marty Party

As of Wednesday afternoon, the NHL's leading scorer in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is not Connor McDavid, and it's not Leon Draisaitl. It's Carolina's #48, Jordan Martinook.

Who would have thought?

With nine points in four games, the club's workhorse winger is enjoying the moment, and above all, happy his team is succeeding.

"Being able to contribute and have a 3-1 lead is the biggest part. If I had no points, like I did in the first series when we were winning, I'd be in the exact same situation," Martinook opened with as he fielded questions from reporters at Invisalign Arena. "It's cool to contribute and I'm happy to be able to help the team win. Hopefully, we can keep it going. It's been fun."

Is he at all surprised by his own success?

"Probably. I don't think I've ever had a run like this before during my time in the NHL, let alone the playoffs," he continued with a smile. "Confidence is a great thing. When you can feel it a little bit, it's definitely nice."

And just as Martinook is a team-first guy, his teammates are elated to see him getting rewarded as well.

"He's been a good player for us all year. He's breaking out right now, at a great time. He's getting big goals, he's playing hard, and he's leading us out there," Chatfield offered of the veteran forward. "When you see a guy playing like that, you want to give it even harder. He's helping us a lot and he's playing great."

But perhaps nobody is happier for Martinook than the head coach, who has had an unwavering belief in him for five years now.

It's no secret that the club is in need of players stepping up due to the absences of scoring forwards Andrei Svechnikov, Teuvo Teravainen, Max Pacioretty, and Ondrej Kase, and with Martinook emerging as the man of the hour, it's an example of exactly what the team needs.

"It's a big deal because those are elite players (out of the lineup), but it's opportunities for other guys. And sometimes other guys don't get those opportunities, but they're good players. They're just not used in those roles," Brind'Amour said of the situation. "We've got a lot of faith in all of our guys. We'd love to have Svech and Turbo out there, but now Marty is having a heck of a series. We knew coming in we'd have to have all 20 guys contribute in one way or another. That's the only way we're going to get it done. Did we expect it to this degree with some of these guys? No. But it's the way we're going to have to do it."

Turning The Attention To Tomorrow

Just like Round 1, Carolina now has a chance to put away their opponent in a Game 5 on home ice.

Although they were unsuccessful against the New York Islanders, the group wouldn't change a thing from their effort then, nor last night.

"We played really well in Game 5 at home last round, it just didn't go our way," Brind'Amour remarked. "We're going to try and do our best (tomorrow). I know they're going to try and throw everything at us. All the games are big, and we're trying to win them all, but I don't think we're going to approach it any differently."

Despite trailing 1-0 just 1:55 in last night after Jack Hughes tipped a shot past Frederik Andersen, the final 50 minutes of the affair were essentially dominated by Carolina.

"We have to look at what's made us successful against this team, and it's been simple hockey and work ethic. Our game's that we played here (this series), we were just dialed in, similar to last night after the first 10 minutes," Martinook offered. "That's what it's going to take. We know teams with their backs up against the wall play their best hockey and we have to try and match that, and be better than that."

Although nobody has scored more than Carolina's 37 goals this postseason, and 21 of them have come against New Jersey, the surge in offense isn't because of an identity change for the unit, but rather just a series of capitalizing on their chances.

"The big, high-scoring games, that's not really our style. When we're giving up one, like we have in the wins, we're going to take that. If we can score the way we have, we'll take it," Martinook continued. "We have to keep limiting their chances and try to keep it to zero, or one."

And even if New Jersey comes out of the gate with a scorching pace again tomorrow, the group has proven that they have the necessary ability to bite back.

"It's hockey. It's supposed to be a back-and-forth game. We know we're going to get hemmed in a little bit. It's just finding a way to weather the storm a little bit," Chatfield commented. "They could've got a few early, but luckily they didn't and we refocused. We started playing our game and didn't look back after that."

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