Hurricanes center Jesperi Kotkaniemi: ‘We have to be a lot better than that’

Jesperi Kotkaniemi says the Carolina Hurricanes can play better.

Kotkaniemi also says the Kotkaniemi line can play better.

That was the center’s takeaway from Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoff series against the New York Islanders. The Canes emerged with a 3-1 victory Saturday in the playoff opener, but only after a third-period push that had Stefan Noesen and Martin Necas scoring goals.

“Definitely not our best,” Kotkaniemi said Sunday after a team practice at PNC Arena. “I feel in the playoffs, even when you have a bad day, you need to somehow manage to win the game. And that’s what we did.

“Everyone in here knows we have to be a lot better than that. But we start with a win, so that was big.”

Kotkaniemi’s line, with wingers Teuvo Teravainen and Necas, was on the ice in the first period when the Isles scored their goal for a 1-1 tie that held until the third. Kyle MacLean, positioned in front of Canes goalie Frederik Andersen, was able to punch the puck in.

“We were pretty much the same as everyone. We didn’t have much going on there,” Kotkaniemi said of his line. “We spent a lot of time in the neutral zone, going back and forth all the time.”

Kotkaniemi and the Canes are seeking more consistent, efficient play and puck management Monday in Game 2.

“Take it to them a little bit more and get a little more O-zone time,” he said.

The Islanders will do everything they can to avoid an 0-2 start in the best-of-seven series. Had they gotten a better bounce here or there, or if Andersen not made some super stops, they could have won Game 1.

With a number of veterans on the team, the Isles should be able to put the Game 1 loss behind them and ratchet up their intensity level for Game 2. At least, that’s the plan.

“That’s playoff hockey,” Kotkaniemi said. “Whether you win or you lose, you have to be able to re-set after every game and be ready for the next one. Every shift matters. Every game matters. You have to be ready all the time.”

It has been a choppy season at times for Kotkaniemi, who was made a healthy scratch a few times by Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour late in the regular season. He finished with 12 goals and 27 points in 79 games, but did have a goal and assist in the regular-season finale against the Columbus Blue Jackets, his first multi-point game since early November.

Brind’Amour had “KK” centering the second line – and center Evgeny Kuznetsov with the fourth line – as the playoffs began.

“For sure it was a tough year and not the year I wanted,” Kotkaniemi said. “But it’s playoff time and it’s always a different story in the playoffs.

“I’ll try to have a good ending to this year with being the last team standing.”

Meaning the team holding the Stanley Cup. For Kotkaniemi and the Canes, that would be a very good ending.