RALEIGH Hurricanes rookie left wing Brock McGinn went on a tear last week, scoring four goals and adding three assists in three Carolina wins. People including the NHL are beginning to take notice.McGinn was the named the league’s third star for last week on Monday. Washington center Nicklas Backstrom (three goals, seven assists in four wins) was the NHL’s No. 1 star, and Boston left wing Brad Marchand (four goals and four assists in two wins and one loss) was the second star.McGinn’s four goals in three victories over Eastern Conference foes matched his total output in 45 previous NHL games. He had the first multi-goal game of his career Friday against Buffalo, then had four points (one goal, three assists) the next night against the Islanders. “It’s a good feeling. I think it’s just a compliment to our team on how we’re playing right now,” McGinn said following Monday’s practice. “I think it goes through our whole lineup. It’s contagious and I think we know how big these next couple games are, we’ve just got to continue that.”The Hurricanes winners of four straight, all at PNC Arena have a rematch at Columbus Tuesday before returning home Friday to host Pittsburgh. They then head back to Columbus for a 5 p.m. game Saturday, then play at Washington Monday. The four-game stretch is against three of the top teams in the conference, right at a time when Carolina is on the cusp of moving into playoff position they trail Philadelphia by just one point for the second wild card spot, but have three games in hand on the Flyers.”I think that’s why we play this game we all love that emotional part of the game,” McGinn said of the familiarity and animosity that playing Columbus three times in 12 days could breed. “I think that really brings out everybody’s best, and it’s a lot of fun to be in those games in those situations.” McGinn’s big week came playing alongside center Jordan Staal and forward Elias Lindholm, who had six and five points, respectively, in the past three games.”Ginner’s playing the same game, just getting a little more results in the offensive zone,” coach Bill Peters said. “He’s a real responsible player and has been good for us for quite a while. But now everyone’s starting to notice.”
