It was a matter of when - not if - Andrei Svechnikov’s break-through would happen, and fortunately for the Carolina Hurricanes, it’s happening in the midst of the team’s stretch run, on the verge of ending a nine-year playoff drought.
“It’s been coming, right?” head coach Rod Brind’Amour said of Svechnikov’s growing impact on Sunday after the rookie’s overtime goal capped off a come-from-behind win over Montreal. “We’ve been saying it all year and, obviously, we’re throwing him out there in key situations now and in overtime.”
It’s certainly been coming for Svechnikov.