Stankoven shines with 2 goals in Hurricanes playoff debut 

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Logan Stankoven made certain his debut with the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Playoffs would be a memorable one.

Acquired by the Hurricanes in the trade that sent forward Mikko Rantanen to the Dallas Stars on March 7, Stankoven proved his worth by scoring twice, including the game-winner, in a 4-1 victory against the New Jersey Devils in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Lenovo Center on Sunday.

Game 2 will be here on Tuesday (6 p.m. ET; FDSNSO, MSGSN, ESPN, TVAS2, SN360).

"It was just nice to get the first one out of the way and start off on the right foot," Stankoven said. "When you come into a series, the first one is big, but there’s a lot of hockey left to play. It was a lot of fun playing out there."

The 22-year-old forward (5-foot-8, 165 pounds) has also demonstrated he’s perfectly capable of playing smart and keeping pace with playoff veterans Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook on Carolina's third line, which finished with three points (Martinook had an assist), seven shots on goal, six hits and a plus-3 rating in Game 1.

Not surprisingly, that’s what has Staal grinning ear to ear.

"He's got a little more skill than me and ‘Marty,’ and obviously he can put the puck in the net," Staal said. "He's a good little player, obviously. He finds holes, he's got good speed, and he shoots pucks. He's just getting warmed up."

Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour had the Martinook-Staal-Stankoven trio together for nine of their 19 regular-season games following the trade with the Stars. After Sunday's performance, that line will likely remain intact for the foreseeable future, at least against the Devils.

However, Stankoven can scale a lineup and play the wing and center if needed.

"I mean, it worked tonight, but it's a safety net for players that play with two players (Martinook, Staal) who do it the right way every shift or least certainly try to," Brind'Amour said. "There's a lot of comfort there for any player that gets to play with guys like that."

Said Stankoven: "I'm just trying to adapt to those players and being in the right spots to get pucks off. It takes a bit of time at first, but I've been adjusting pretty well. The guys have done a good job communicating with me and helping me out."

Stankoven had 38 points (14 goals, 24 assists) in 78 regular-season games, including nine points (five goals, four assists) in 19 games with the Hurricanes. Selected by Dallas in the second round (No. 47) of the 2021 NHL Draft, Stankoven has one season remaining on his three-year, entry-level contract he signed with the Stars on Sept. 28, 2021.

He's had a knack for coming up big in key moments in his brief NHL career, getting eight points (three goals, five assists) in 19 Stanley Cup Playoff games with the Stars last season.

"I love playing in the big games and meaningful hockey," Stankoven said. "I'm motivated to try and contribute in any way possible. It's always a nice feeling to get on the score sheet."

His high danger shots on goal (55) during the regular season landed in the 82nd percentile, well above the League average (29.8), per NHL Edge statistics.

Stankoven’s first goal on Sunday gave Carolina a 2-0 lead at 6:37 of the second period. After controlling a backhand pass by Martinook from below the goal line, Stankoven snapped in a shot from the left circle. His second goal extended the lead to 3-0 on the power play at 13:08. Taylor Hall, who was acquired on Jan. 24 from the Chicago Blackhawks in the three-team trade that brought Rantanen to Carolina, made a cross-ice pass to Stankoven, who connected on a wrist shot from the right circle.

Stankoven became the second player in franchise history to have a multigoal game in his Carolina playoff debut, joining Andrei Svechnikov, who scored two goals in a 4-2 loss to the Washington Capitals in Game 1 of the 2019 Eastern Conference First Round.

He's the type of player Brind'Amour enjoys coaching and putting on the ice in big moments because of his work ethic and determined nature. At the time the Hurricanes acquired Stankoven, general manager Eric Tulsky praised the aggressive nature with which the right-handed shot plays the game.

"When the puck is on his stick, he's very shifty with it, he's very aggressive, he's attacking on offense," Tulsky said then. "And when he's going and recovering loose pucks, he's always the first one in on it, he's always there pressuring and getting into people’s bodies and making things difficult. He's not the tallest guy in the world, but he plays bigger than he looks, he plays hard, competes hard, and that's what we look for in a Hurricanes player."