After shaking off a scoring drought and a lineup shuffle, Carolina’s spirited winger delivered a clutch overtime power-play strike to rescue the Hurricanes and ignite a potential postseason turnaround.
Nobody wears their heart on their sleeve for the Carolina Hurricanes more than Seth Jarvis and in the midst of a tough skid, the frustrations were palpable.
Despite leading the team in goals through the regular season, Jarvis had only beaten a netminder twice in 14 games this postseason and his struggles were starting to garner national attention too.
Asked daily about his line's offensive dry spell, the Hurricanes' upbeat winger was able to brush off questions of concern and keep a smile on his face, but following a tough Game 1 loss, the emotions were written all over his face.
"Yeah, I mean, there is frustration," Jarvis said in a loss where he missed twice on potential game-winners. "But like I've said in the past, the chances are there. We've had our looks, we just have to capitalize now more than ever. We can't dwell on the past, can't dwell on the stuff we missed. It's about the next shift, the next shot."
Things didn't improve much for Jarvis and the top line in Game 2, as the Golden Knights did a good job of suppressing most of Carolina's attack.
And so eventually Brind'Amour made the decision to split the lines, moving Jarvis down alongside Jordan Staal and Nikolaj Ehlers, a move the star forward welcomed.
"I love playing with Jordo and Fly," Jarvis said. "I think we've had success in the Flyers series and just throughout the season playing together. It's always good to shake it up a little bit, get different looks on different lines. I thought Marty did a great job at winning battles that maybe I was losing on Fishy's line and giving them second chances."
While the line changes didn't necessarily net the Hurricanes any more goals, it did help generate a bit more energy for the team, which was key in that third-period rally.
But the most notable opportunity came in overtime, with the Hurricanes getting a shot to end it on a power play.
Just as much as the top players had been maligned for their 5v5 struggles, the power play had too caught the ire of fans.
Both had been big black eyes for the Hurricanes so far these playoffs and if there was ever a time they needed to show up, it was then.
And with one shot, they silenced the critics.
Jarvis got his chance, as Shayne Gostisbehere faked out Carter Hart enough to open a hole, and this time, he didn't miss.
"I kind of screwed Jarvy in Game 1," Gostisbehere said. "I put it on his front foot and made him miss the net. So I kind of owed him one there. So happy I put one in his wheelhouse and he finished it off."
The emotions were evident for Jarvis who erupted into celebration and was quickly embraced by his team.
"It was huge," Jarvis said. "To be able to contribute to a win and help the team out like that is nice. I've imagined doing that a lot. To be able to do it in real life is awesome."
"What can I say?," Sebastian Aho said. "He's a great player, an unbelievable human being. I can't say enough good things about him."
"I was really happy too for Jarv," said Logan Stankoven. "He's got a heck of a shot, so it was nice to see him put one in the back of the net."
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