Hurricanes’ Rod Brind’Amour admits Sebastian Aho’s line needs to step up vs. Vegas

The Carolina Hurricanes started Game 1 of their 2026 NHL Stanley Cup Final series against the Vegas Golden Knights like a house on fire.

Hurricanes forward Nikolaj Ehlers scored two goals in a row to kick things off in the first period, but a 2-0 lead was simply not big enough for the Canes to prevent the visiting Golden Knights at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, from completing a 5-4 come-from-behind victory on Tuesday.

The loss to the Golden Knights can also be a wake-up call for the Hurricanes’ top line, which did not do a great job on the ice against the Golden Knights.

After the game, Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour shared his thoughts on his team’s top line of Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis.

“They had one good shift in the third.  I mean, everyone has to play well if you’re gonna win at this time of year,” Brind’Amour said during the postgame press conference (via Sportsnet).

“It’s as simple as that, and you know your best guys got to get on the score sheet. That’s gonna have to happen if we want to get where we want to be.”

Svechnikov, Aho and Jarvis all did not figure in any of the Hurricanes’ four goals in Game 1. So far in the NHL playoffs, they have combined for 16 points. For comparison, Taylor Hall of the second line has 22 points himself. Jackson Blake, another second-liner, has 15 points.

Hopefully for Carolina, its top line will break out in the series sooner rather than later.

Game 2 of the Final will be on Thursday, still in North Carolina.

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