RALEIGH, N.C. _ In a playoff series that will have no shortage of big bodies banging and bruising play, the Carolina Hurricanes' chances of beating the Boston Bruins may come down to two of their smallest players.
To get through the Bruins in the Eastern Conference finals, the Canes likely will need Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen at their playmaking best. The Finns, quiet and unassuming off the ice, play with a degree of fearlessness in their game, and their line with Russian rookie Andrei Svechnikov must offset Boston's powerhouse top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak.
"It's a challenge but we see it as an opportunity to play great hockey," Aho said Wednesday of facing the Bruins.
Teravainen, who won a Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015, is amped to get the series started Thursday. Two days of practice in Raleigh, he said, are more than enough.
"This is the most fun time," he said Wednesday. "The games matter so much. Everything is just hockey, hockey.
"That's what I dreamed about as young kid, to play hockey, to play in the big games, to play for the Stanley Cup. This time of the year is special."
Teravainen's goal on April 24 in Game 7 against the Washington Capitals was a big momentum shifter. The Caps led 3-1 late in the second period when Teravainen corralled a loose puck between the circles in the Caps zone, wheeled and rifled a shot past defenseman John Carlson and goalie Braden Holtby.
At 3-2, the game was a lot more manageable for the Canes. Jordan Staal tied the score in the third period and Brock McGinn won the game in the second overtime.
Teravainen followed that up with three goals and two assists in the four-game sweep of the New York Islanders in the second round of the playoffs, scoring twice in the 5-2 win in Game 3.
Aho appeared to be laboring at times in the Caps series. Canes coach Rod Brind'Amour said it was probably the fatigue of a long season and not an injury, although the center has not taken many faceoffs in the 11 playoff games.
Aho's short-handed goal in Game 7 against the Caps may have been bigger than Teravainen's score, coming with the Canes trailing 2-0. He then had a goal and assist in the last two games of the sweep over the Islanders.
Against the Bruins, Aho and Teravainen could be on the ice with Zdeno Chara, 42, the towering _ if ageless _ Boston defenseman who's 6-9 and 250 pounds. But regardless of the matchups, they've found ways to produce.
"The first thing that pops in my mind is that (Chara) has such a long reach," Aho said. "You have to be aware that while I can beat him wide, he's got the stick on my stick. He's so strong on the puck. It's a challenge."
Aho, who's 6-0 and 176 pounds, had four goals and three assists in the three regular-season games against the Bruins, scoring twice in the Dec. 23 game at PNC Arena _ a 5-3 Canes win _ and the March 5 game in Boston won in overtime by the Bruins.
The 5-foot-11, 191 pound Teravainen had two goals and two assists, all in the Dec. 23 game that was memorable for the Canes first wearing the Hartford Whalers throwback jerseys. They wore them again March 5.
But as Canes captain Justin Williams said, "The playoffs are a whole different animal."
The Bruins won the Cup in 2011 but have not been in the conference finals since 2013. They began the playoffs by beating the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games _ former Canes forward Joakim Nordstrom with a goal and assist to help spur the 5-1 victory in Game 7 _ and then finished off the Columbus Blue Jackets in six games in the semifinals.
"They have a championship pedigree," Williams said. "Their core has won, their core is proven. They're hungry, they're obviously motivated."
And the Canes?
"Excited," Teravainen said. "It's the playoffs. Anything's possible. Someone at the end will be at the top and we want to make sure we're that team."
