RALEIGH, N.C. — The second round of the Rangers-Hurricanes playoff series doubles as a Drury family affair.
Blueshirts president and general manager Chris Drury watches the game from a private press booth in a suit while his nephew Jack Drury skates on the other side of the ice wearing a Carolina jersey. are doing.
The hockey-centered family still goes about it, as most people do, with family chats.
“He texted me after the last series,” Jack Drury said before the Hurricanes survived the series thanks to a 4-3 win over the Rangers in Game 4. Let’s talk in a few weeks. ” ”
Jack Drury is the son of Chris Drury’s younger brother Ted, who himself enjoyed an eight-year NHL career with the Flames, Whalers, Ducks, Islanders and Blue Jackets. The Drury brothers only overlapped for four seasons before Ted retired in 2007, the same year Chris joined the Rangers.
The 24-year-old forward, who the Hurricanes won 4-3 in Game 4 on Saturday, said his uncle taught him hockey tips and tricks when he was young, but that those lessons fade as players get older. Told. Still, Jack Drury claims Chris Drury was a huge influence on his hockey career.
“I remember his tenacity and hard work,” Chris said of his playing days. “He’s tough on face-offs. I remember going to watch him when he was competing in the Vancouver Olympics, and that’s one of my best childhood memories. I’m so grateful to see the impact I’ve had.”
The young Drury is completing his first full season in the NHL, posting eight goals and 19 assists in 74 games. Drury played in 38 games for Carolina last season after appearing in just two games in 2021-22.
“I really liked his year,” Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour said of Drury early in the playoffs. “Initially, he probably didn’t have that role as much, but he earned it. I think that’s the easiest way to put it. Every time you put him out there, good things happen. And it happened again the other day.
“We know what we’re going to get. You keep that consistent effort and he can make plays. That’s what it’s all about this time of year. That consistency. At the end of the day, he got ice time.”
He was especially active in the first two games of this series against the Rangers, bringing an impactful physical presence and causing things sporadically whenever he was on the ice. Throughout Games 1 and 2, Drury had an outstanding performance, recording four blocks, one hit, and three shots on goal.
In Game 1, Matt Lempe skated right up to Carolina goaltender Frederik Andersen, only to find Andrei Svechnikov clipping Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin in the back of the net a few shifts earlier. In response, it was Drury who stepped up and forced the 6-foot-8 1/2-inch player forward. ice.
“It’s huge,” Drury said of his uncle’s influence on his hockey career. “I think both him and his father started going to games growing up. I have very fond memories of going to see him play, and he was a big supporter of mine throughout my career.”
No matter how this series shakes out, Jack agreed that next Thanksgiving will be fine.
