The Carolina Hurricanes are now moving on to Round 2 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, where they’ll face the Washington Capitals. Before the beginning of May, the Hurricanes went 2-6-1 in the final nine games of the regular season in April, finishing with a 47-30-5 record (99 points). While the record is not great, the Hurricanes rested some of their regulars in the last week of the season. Still, some players stood out in April, during the final nine regular-season games and into the playoffs.
In the seventh instalment of “Three Stars of the Month” from The Hockey Writers, we’ll look at who led the way for the Hurricanes last month.
Third Star: Andrei Svechnikov
Andrei Svechnikov earns the third star because of his impressive performance in Round 1 against the New Jersey Devils, more so than his handful of games in the regular season, where he tallied one goal and three points in seven games. However, in the first round, he turned it on, scoring five goals and finishing with six points in the five-game series. Game 4 was his breakout performance as he scored the Hurricanes’ second-ever postseason hat trick en route to a 5-2 win.
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The Hurricanes waited for Svechnikov to get rolling all season, and Games 4 and 5 were his coming-out party. While he only recorded 20 goals and 48 points in the regular season, his performance in the playoffs so far should give him a confidence boost. His greatest ability was his availability for the Hurricanes in Round 1, taking no penalties. Svechnikov is capable of a 25-plus goal, 60-point-plus season, and if this postseason unlocks another level to ghis game, watch out.
Second Star: Sebastian Aho
Sebastian Aho could arguably be the first of the month. He had a good finish to the regular season, with four assists and five points in seven games in April. However, he was a beast in Round 1, finishing with three goals and eight points. He leads the team in assists (five), points (eight), and power-play and game-winning goals (three). He scored half of the Hurricanes’ six power-play goals in Round 1, including the game-tying and game-winning goals in Game 5 to secure the series win.
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