Brady Skjei doesn’t care how many power-play goals he has in his playoff career, just that he was able to get one when it mattered most in Carolina’s win over his former team to keep its season alive in the Game 4 victory over the Rangers.
“I’m not worried about numbers,’’ Skjei said after the Hurricanes’ morning skate on Monday at Madison Square Garden in advance of Game 5. “I’m just trying to help the team win in any way I can. It doesn’t matter how it happens or who it’s against.”
Skjei’s power-play goal Saturday was his first ever in a postseason career that had spanned 74 games.
It was also Carolina’s first goal with the man-advantage in 17 tries in the series.
But the 30-year-old defenseman has plenty of history with the Rangers, having spent the first four-plus seasons of his career with the organization after being drafted by the team in the first round in 2012.
He was shipped to Carolina in exchange for a first-round pick in 2020 and has now spent four-plus seasons with the Hurricanes.
Skjei’s decisive goal in Carolina in Game 4 — after the Rangers had erased a two-goal deficit and seemed poised to finish off a four-game sweep — certainly won’t endear him to his former fans at the Garden.
“We know how hard this place is to play in,’’ said Skjei, who entered Game 5 having scored points in three straight games. “I know how crazy it can get in here, but we’ve played and won in intense places before.”
But in this particular Eastern Conference playoff rivalry, neither team has typically fared well on the road.
Dating back to their seven-game series in 2022, the road team has won just twice: The Rangers clinched the series win in Game 7 at Carolina in ’22 and then beat the Hurricanes at Carolina in Game 3 of this series.
“At this point, we’re going day by day,” Skjei said. “Literally. We’ve had that mindset and it doesn’t matter if we’re at home or on the road.”