From Nov. 11 to Jan. 4, Stankoven scored twice in a stretch of 27 games, an almost incomprehensible run of futility and bad puck luck for a player who would finish with a career-high 44 points (21 goals, 23 assists) in 81 regular-season games.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were a couple of spurts where the puck wasn\u2019t going in,\u201d he said during the first-round series. \u201cI was having the chances and it just wasn\u2019t going. Now it\u2019s nice to see they are going in. There are ups and downs, but I think I have been able to stick with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The reward has been goals by the bushel at the most important time of the season.<\/p>\n
He had seven in the final eight games of the regular season as the Hurricanes locked down the top seed in the Eastern Conference and then added four in four against the Senators, who had no answer for his line, which also features Taylor Hall<\/a> and Jackson Blake<\/a>.<\/p>\n Carolina coach Rod Brind\u2019Amour doesn\u2019t see a different player now that Stankoven is being feted instead of being snakebit.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s how he has played all year,\u201d the coach said. \u201cThe puck wasn\u2019t going in for a long stretch, but it was chance after chance. Now, as you say, the law of averages is working in his favor here.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s generating chances. It was just a matter of time and the time came. He never changed.\u201d<\/p>\n Make no mistake, Stankoven is made for the playoffs.<\/p>\n He had eight points (three goals, five assists) in his first playoffs in 2023-24 with the Dallas Stars. Last season, after being traded to Carolina as the centerpiece of the Mikko Rantanen<\/a>\u00a0deal, he had five goals (and three assists) in a run to the Eastern Conference Final.<\/p>\n In his final two seasons of junior hockey with Kamloops of the Western Hockey League, he had 61 points (27 goals, 34 assists) in 31 postseason games.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s fun hockey,\u201d said Stankoven, who plays like a wrecking ball despite his 5-foot-8, 165-pound frame.<\/p>\n There seems to be no governor on his throttle. Especially when the stakes get higher. He knows his job is to hunt pucks and cause chaos on the cycle.<\/p>\n His teammates love the show.<\/p>\n