The Carolina Hurricanes' forward depth already was stretched thin before Jack Drury sustained an upper-body injury 3:30 into Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the New York Islanders on Sunday.

So when coach Rod Brind'Amour looked down the bench for someone to replace Drury on the Hurricanes' top line with Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis, the decision was actually pretty simple.
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That next guy was Mackenzie MacEachern, who turned out to be the perfect fit with Aho and Jarvis, finishing with a goal and an assist in Carolina's 5-2 win at UBS Arena.

There were plenty of other heroes for Carolina, which earned its first road win in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2021 (1-8) and took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series. Jarvis scored two goals, Aho had a goal and two assists, and Antti Raanta made 27 saves.

But MacEachern's performance in his first NHL game this season provided an example of what the Hurricanes will need to not only advance beyond the Islanders, but also make the run at the Stanley Cup they expected when this season began.

But if they get that far, they might not have anyone return to help out their depleted forward corps. Brind'Amour didn't have an update postgame on Drury, who was injured on a hit from New York defenseman Ryan Pulock, which resulted in a boarding penalty.

Drury was Carolina's previous "next man up," filling in for Teuvo Teravainen, who is out indefinitely after breaking his left hand in Game 2 on Wednesday. With Andrei Svechnikov (torn ACL) and Max Pacioretty (torn Achilles) out for the season, the Hurricanes are missing three of their top six forwards.Toronto Maple Leafs Trøje

That means they'll need more from top players such as Aho and Jarvis, but also unlikely heroes like MacEachern, who thought he was going to be one of Carolina's "Black Aces" when he was called up from Chicago of the American Hockey League on Thursday. The 29-year-old got a heads up on Saturday that he might play, and it was confirmed when he saw his name on the lineup sheet when arrived at UBS Arena on Sunday.