At some point, the Carolina Hurricanes will have to understand Niclas Wallin can't carry the offense forever.

Ditto for Bret Hedican.

But aside from surprising offensive moments from those two low-scoring defenders, the 'Canes have yet to receive an even-strength goal from any of their forwards heading into Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Yes, Jeff O'Neill did score Carolina's lone goal in a 2-1 defeat in the series opener. But that was a power-play goal, and O'Neill didn't even shoot it past Leafs netminder Curtis Joseph. Instead, a crease-clearing effort by Cory Cross bounced unpredictably off O'Neill's glove and into the Toronto net, and the goal required extensive video review before it was confirmed.

Otherwise, it's been all Wallin and Hedican. Nothing yet from Erik Cole, Rod Brind'Amour, Bates Battaglia, Ron Francis or Sami Kapanen, zilch from Martin Gelinas, Josef Vasicek and Jaroslav Svoboda. For Kapanen, it has been a continuation of his miserable spring as he has now gone goalless in 14 playoff games.

Brind'Amour did set up Wallin's OT winner in Game 2, and on that play Battaglia was harassing Joseph just enough to distract his attention to a minor degree from Wallin's incoming volley.

But heading into Toronto to face a team that has lost only 13 of 49 home games this season during the regular season and playoffs, it's doubtful the 'Canes will manage to win either Game 3 or 4 unless there is production from the BBC Line and other components of the Carolina attack.

That said, since losing Game 3 of the first round to New Jersey by an unflattering 4-0 score, the 'Canes are 3-2 on the road in the postseason during which they've been able to win with different scoring heroes, not to mention different goalies.

To a significant degree, the lack of output from Carolina's forwards so far against the Leafs is the product of Joseph's strong work. In the first two games of the series, the Hurricanes fired 65 shots at Joseph, including nine from Francis, five from Cole and five from Kapanen. Cole had a chance to ice Game 2 late on a breakaway but couldn't even get a shot away on the crumbling ice surface at the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena.

But clearly, the Carolina forwards have found the going much tougher against Toronto's defensive shield than against Montreal in the previous round. Indeed, the Leafs are a bigger, hardier group than either Montreal or New Jersey, the 'Canes' other opponents this spring, and head coach Paul Maurice has spoken repeatedly of the need for his players to understand pretty hockey will be at a minimum in this series.

"The biggest thing our players have to realize is that in our eyes, this series will never look like the Montreal series," he said. "It will never be that easy through the neutral zone."

Carolina's need for production up front is further emphasized with the return of Leafs captain Mats Sundin, who played Game 2 after missing 12 playoff games with a cracked left wrist. Sundin played a limited role in Sunday's game, skating less than 17 minutes and mostly with less-than-prolific shooters like Tie Domi, Darcy Tucker and Alexei Ponikarovsky.

The expectation is that Sundin's minutes and role will increase as the series goes on, which could change many of the matchups and dynamics in the series.

"Whenever you can add a top-five player in the league, it's a dimension any team would like to have," said O'Neill. "Even if he had one of his hands cut off, let alone broken, he would be an effective player."

Of special interest for Game 3, then, will be the manner in which Pat Quinn alters, or doesn't alter, his forward lines.

For the most part in the first two games, the Brind'Amour line played against the Toronto unit of Alyn McCauley between Gary Roberts and Jonas Hoglund, and by Game 2 the Carolina threesome was starting to assert itself more consistently.

Quinn may wish to change that. But he's loath to break up the McCauley-Roberts connection, and the second line of Travis Green between Shayne Corson and Alexander Mogilny has also been effective.

That said, there's not much point have a weapon like Sundin if he's not used with similarly skilled players. Moreover, the Leafs have had success in the recent past using Corson to isolate certain attackers, and playing him head-to-head against Cole must have some appeal for Quinn, who now has the advantage of last change on home ice.

Quinn could leave Sundin on a fourth line with Reichel, or even Paul Healey, a Game 2 scratch. Or, he could play the captain as a winger on the first line with Roberts and McCauley, or perhaps in place of Green between Corson and Mogilny.

"How their lines are structured is going to be a key," said Maurice.

While Wallin continued to make it tough for David Tanabe to get back into the Carolina lineup, the Leafs also received veteran rearguard Jyrki Lumme back from the injured list on Sunday, which should help take some of the heat off workhorses Tomas Kaberle and Bryan McCabe.

Both McCabe and Kaberle played more than 30 minutes in Game 2, but that included 13:42 of overtime. Without any extra periods in Game 1, both played about 29 minutes, so the inclusion of Lumme should give the Leafs another veteran body to throw out against the BBCers and other Carolina forwards.

Thus, the chore is likely to get tougher, not easier, for the 'Canes on offense. Instead of the few thousand Leafs fans who trekked to Raleigh, N.C., for Game 2, Maurice's crew will face an audience of nearly 100 percent Leafs fans tonight.

It won't be the easiest circumstances in which to bust a slump.

Damien Cox is a columnist for the Toronto Star.