- Nikolaj Ehlers has back-to-back three-point games with Carolina up 3-2 in the Cup Final
- The summer signing has scored or assisted on six of the Canes’ last eight goals
- Read below for what Brind’Amour and the room are saying about their playoff buy
Carolina went out and got Nikolaj Ehlers last summer to add the kind of skill that wins playoff games. He’s giving them exactly that with the Stanley Cup one win away.
Ehlers threw a puck over the glass for a delay of game penalty in Game 5, and Vegas cashed in on the power play. He answered a few shifts later with a shot pass that hit captain Jordan Staal in stride for a redirection goal in a 4-2 win.
The league has noticed what he’s been doing:
Brind’Amour was asked about the winger after Saturday’s practice. “He’s an elite player, playmaker, that’s what we knew we were getting,” the coach said. “And he’s delivered. He’s been everything we had hoped he would be, and to our team.”
The numbers back it up. Ehlers put up three assists in Game 5 after two helpers and an empty-netter in Game 4, his fifth multipoint game in the last nine after managing just one in the first eight.
His linemate Seth Jarvis has watched it up close. “It’s incredible to watch what he can do individually with the puck,” Jarvis said.
Ehlers spent a decade in Winnipeg before signing a six-year deal with Carolina. His overtime winner in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final against Montreal pulled the Hurricanes out of a possible 0-2 hole and set the tone for this run.
The guy they call “Fly” knows Sunday won’t come easy:
Take a look at the Game 5 win that put Carolina on the doorstep:
Game 6 is Sunday at T-Mobile Arena, 8 p.m. ET. A win gives the Hurricanes their first Stanley Cup since 2006, when Brind’Amour wore the C. Frederik Andersen is available in net if Carolina wants him for the close-out.
