Years of trying have finally yielded results. Aho and Svechnikov's potent chemistry has ignited Carolina's offense, dominating possession and scoring.
For years, the Carolina Hurricanes have tried to get the duo of Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov to click.
Aho is the Canes' number one centerman and Svechnikov, for as much as he's been up and down throughout his career, is one of the most purely and uniquely talented wingers on the roster.
And so, since 2019-20, the organization has tried to get the two to work together, with the pair having spent at least 200 5v5 minutes together every season to varying degrees of success.
Yet always in the end, the two haven't ever been able to consistently click and they more often than not end the year on separate lines.
Sure, they'd have stretches of dominant play, where their line would look like one of the best in the league, but far too often, it'd taper off into ineffectiveness.
And this isn't jus a problem unique to them either (Aho never quite clicked with some of the other top Canes wingers such as Martin Necas too).
You can look all across the league and there are plenty of examples of players, who despite being the most talented skaters on the roster, just can't quite get on the same page.
Hockey is a game where fit and playstyle matter a ton when it comes to line combinations and so it's key when you can find the combos that work consistently (think Aho with Teuvo Teravainen in the past and now how good he is with Seth Jarvis).
However, this year has been a revelation for Svechnikov and Aho, as the two have managed to find consistent chemistry for, really, the majority of the year.
"We've just kind of figured it out this year," Svechnikov said. "Through all the years, to be honest, we always have played like that if you look at all the playoffs. Any season, sometimes it doesn't go your way, sometimes it does go your way. This is the way right now it goes and hopefully it'll continue to go this way."
The two of been on the ice together for 30 5v5 goals this season and if you expand it out to all their game minutes, they've been on the ice together for 65 goals.
"In the past, it' been a little more hit or miss, for sure," said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour. "I don't really have a reason why, but that's our number one line. It's gotta do it. They've been on it here lately and when they are, we, as a team, do pretty well."
In fact, Aho and Svechnikov spent more 5v5 minutes together so far this season just halfway through the year than they had in any previous season in total.
"Playing a lot together and building chemistry for sure helps, but it goes hand-in-hand," Aho said. "When you play well together, then you obviously stay together."
In those minutes, they're dominating possession wise, generating over a 60% share of both pure chances and scoring chances, while outscoring opponents 30-19.
"Whenever you play with a group of guys, you build chemistry and you try to push each other," Svechnikov said. "You just build more and more chemistry every day and definitely it's one of those things for sure."
So what's going right for them?
It probably shouldn't be understated how much of an influence Svechnikov's bounce back is having.
The Russian winger looks more confident with his decision making on the ice and his skating looks to finally be back to the explosive level it was at three years earlier, before his ACL injury.
And so after starting the year pointless in his first seven games, Svechnikov is now up to 21 goals and 49 points in 57 games.
"The simple answer is I think he's a great player and obviously he has a hot stick and is scoring a lot of goals," Aho said. "It's good for us and for me. I'll try to keep finding him and hopefully he keeps on scoring. But even if he doesn't, I know that he's going to work and play that physical game and all that that makes us a good line."
There's also just the maturity of players. As guys get older, they improve in most areas of the game, especially with cerebral things like positioning, anticipation and chemistry.
The two also had good chemistry with Nikolaj Ehlers earlier in the year and now are still clicking with Seth Jarvis on the other wing. It's good when two players are clicking, but when you can get three all pulling on the same rope, it makes a huge difference.
"Obviously it's not just two guys, it takes three," Aho said. "It's about a line's chemistry more than two guys. I feel like we've been creating enough and playing solid both ways as a line. Those two guys are hard workers and I feel like when we skate, when we battle, when we play physical and are engaged, I think that's when we play good offense too and make plays. But I think the work comes first. I've always liked played with Svechy. He's a big body and plays hard and all that. But like I said, I think it takes three guys to get the chemistry right.
But, as I said, we've seen Aho click with Jarvis before. That's nothing new. This new chemistry with Svechnikov is something we've only ever seen for a playoff round here or there or for a few weeks in the regular season.
Carolina doesn't have any other power forward quite like Svechnikov and so if they can finally unlock his true potential alongside a player like Aho, then the Hurricanes may just be able to get over that hump that has eluded them for years.
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