MacEachern latest forward to step up for Hurricanes in Game 4 win

ELMONT, N.Y. -- The Carolina Hurricanes' forward depth already was stretched thin before Jack Drury sustained an upper-body injury 3:30 into Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the New York Islanders on Sunday.

So when coach Rod Brind'Amour looked down the bench for someone to replace Drury on the Hurricanes' top line with Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis, the decision was actually pretty simple.
"I just didn't have really much choice," Brind'Amour said. "Sometimes it's easy. The choices are made for you and when you're short, you're looking at the next guy up."
That next guy was Mackenzie MacEachern, who turned out to be the perfect fit with Aho and Jarvis, finishing with a goal and an assist in Carolina's 5-2 win at UBS Arena.
There were plenty of other heroes for Carolina, which earned its first road win in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2021 (1-8) and took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series. Jarvis scored two goals, Aho had a goal and two assists, and Antti Raanta made 27 saves.
But MacEachern's performance in his first NHL game this season provided an example of what the Hurricanes will need to not only advance beyond the Islanders, but also make the run at the Stanley Cup they expected when this season began.
"It's kind of been our situation for a while now," Aho said. "We talked about it. It's going to definitely be a team effort. It can't be one guy. It's just every player just gives that one extra inch and that's how you move forward."
RELATED: [Complete Hurricanes vs. Islanders series coverage]
The Hurricanes can move past the Islanders with another win at home in Game 5 on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, SNE, SNO, SNP, TVAS, BSSO, MSG, MSGSN). Then, they'd faced the winner of the Eastern Conference First Round series between the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils.
But if they get that far, they might not have anyone return to help out their depleted forward corps. Brind'Amour didn't have an update postgame on Drury, who was injured on a hit from New York defenseman Ryan Pulock, which resulted in a boarding penalty.
Drury was Carolina's previous "next man up," filling in for Teuvo Teravainen, who is out indefinitely after breaking his left hand in Game 2 on Wednesday. With Andrei Svechnikov (torn ACL) and Max Pacioretty (torn Achilles) out for the season, the Hurricanes are missing three of their top six forwards.
That means they'll need more from top players such as Aho and Jarvis, but also unlikely heroes like MacEachern, who thought he was going to be one of Carolina's "Black Aces" when he was called up from Chicago of the American Hockey League on Thursday. The 29-year-old got a heads up on Saturday that he might play, and it was confirmed when he saw his name on the lineup sheet when arrived at UBS Arena on Sunday.
"You never want to see somebody get hurt, but it kind of gave me an opportunity to play with two unbelievable players and I tried to run with it," MacEachern said.
MacEachern's only previous NHL playoff experience came with the St. Louis Blues in the Edmonton bubble in 2020. After signing a one-year contract with Carolina last summer, he missed the first three months of this season with injuries before returning and finishing with 30 points (11 goals, 19 assists) in 37 AHL games with Chicago.

Knowing the Hurricanes' injury situation, Brind'Amour watched Chicago's final few games and said MacEachern, "jumped off the page." After Carolina lost 5-1 on Friday, Brind'Amour wanted to make a change and called Chicago coach Brock Sheahan to ask about MacEachern.
"He's like, 'It's a no-brainer. This guy will help you,'" Brind'Amour said.
And he did.
Carolina was leading 2-0 on a 5-on-3 power-play goal from Jarvis at 4:05 of the first period and a 5-on-4 power-play goal from Martin Necas at 1:15 of the second before MacEachern played a key role in extending the lead at 13:30 of the second. After Aho intercepted a flubbed dump-in by Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov, he fed MacEachern on this right and then drove to the left post, where he received a return pass from MacEachern and lifted a shot in over goalie Ilya Sorokin's blocker.
"The guy played the first game today all year and comes in and plays at a really high level and makes nice plays and big plays at the time," Aho said. "My goal, he (makes a) full-speed backhand pass right in my wheelhouse. So, that's unreal stuff."
After Jarvis finished a breakaway to make it 4-0 at 1:20 of the third period, the Islanders cut it to 4-1 on Adam Pelech's goal at 3:14, but MacEachern increased the Hurricanes' lead to 5-1 by scoring from the slot at 14:01 for his first NHL playoff goal.
"It was pretty cool," MacEachern said. "It's pretty easy here to step into. I got to know a handful of [the Hurricanes players] in training camp, but it an unbelievable group, a bunch of nice guys. So, they made me feel welcome right away and then, it was just an unbelievable experience."