Jarvis: Biggest thing is 'believing in ourselves' with Canes' season on line
The Carolina Hurricanes face a daunting task in attempting to overturn an 0-3 deficit in the Eastern Conference Final against the Florida Panthers, but forward Seth Jarvis hopes they're ready to meet the moment.
"I think the biggest thing is just believing in ourselves," he said prior to Game 4 on Monday. "I think you can get in these situations and kind of get down or really just kind of mail it in, but I think with this group there's none of that happening.
"We're all excited for the challenge, we're all excited for the opportunity to maybe do something not many teams have done before and come back. But it all starts with one and creating a little momentum."
Only four teams have ever come back to win a series after being in an 0-3 hole, and it's happened twice in the 21st century. The Philadelphia Flyers stunned the Boston Bruins in the second round in 2010, while the Los Angeles Kings pulled off the feat against the San Jose Sharks in the first round four years later.
The Edmonton Oilers nearly overcame the massive deficit in the Stanley Cup Final last spring, but Florida recovered with a Game 7 victory.
The Panthers have been in the driver's seat against the Hurricanes all series long, outscoring them 16-4 and bagging at least five tallies through the first three games.
Contributing to the Hurricanes' struggles is that they've been chasing every game. Florida has potted the first goal in each contest, and Carolina has outscored the reigning Stanley Cup champions in just one period - the second frame of Game 3 when Logan Stankoven converted on the power play.
Though the Panthers pulled away with five goals in the final stanza, Carolina head coach Rod Brind'Amour hopes his players can learn from how they played Saturday before things fell apart.
"That's what we've been looking for. ... I think getting behind has just been a killer for us because it just feeds right into what they do very, very well," he said.
Brind'Amour added, "It's little moments, but that's what it is in this series. If a chance here or there that you create - you've obviously got to finish and you can't give them anything, and it's tough. You're asking a lot, but it's hard and we've got to embrace that."
Stankoven, meanwhile, expects that his team will put its best foot forward as it looks to avoid a 16th straight loss in an Eastern Conference Final game.
"I can tell you for a fact that everyone in there is going to give 110% effort tonight and into the next games as well," he said. "We know that if we can get a win tonight and create some confidence, that's going to be huge for us. We're all excited for tonight."
The puck drops on Game 4 at 8 p.m. ET in Florida.