Rod Brind’Amour is considered one of the best coaches in the NHL. But he can’t seem to get over the Eastern Conference Final hump.
So even though Brind’Amour said all the right things after the Carolina Hurricanes were eliminated short of the Stanley Cup final again — blowing a multi-goal lead on home ice in their 5-3 season-ending loss for the second straight year — it’s hard to consider them bona fide contenders until something changes.
“They’re the standard,” Brind’Amour said, referencing the Florida Panthers. “I thought our guys battled really hard all series.”
Despite making the playoffs seven straight seasons, and advancing to the NHL’s final four three times in that span, Carolina has not even played for the Stanley Cup since 2006.
The Canes are widely considered the smartest organization in the National Hockey League, all that has gotten them is a 1-12 conference-final record since Brind’Amour took over in 2018-19.
Why Were The Carolina Hurricanes Eliminated?
The Hurricanes were ousted by the Florida Panthers for the second time in the past three seasons, this time falling 4-1 in the Eastern Conference final.
Yet, all the same hallmarks of Carolina’s playoff failings of the past were there. Carolina dug itself another 3-0 hole in the conference final it needed to crawl out from under — despite “playing well” according to Brind’Amour.
“You can’t give [the Panthers] a 3-0 lead and expect to come back,” Brind’Amour said. “That’s a big hole.”
The Canes power play was listless in five games, scoring just three times in 20 man-advantage opportunities, including their 0 for 6 performance in Game 5. Carolina’s inept power play helped Florida get back into the game in the second period, when while struggling to get its power play set up, Jesperi Kotkaniemi took a holding penalty that led to Matthew Tkachuk’s power-play goal.
“It couldn’t have gone much better,” Brind’Amour said of the start. “Then we take an O-zone penalty, and they score on that, and all of a sudden that got them going.”
It was the first of two goals in a span of 30 seconds that turned a 2-0 Hurricanes lead into a tie game.
“It was a back-breaker,” Brind’Amour said. “It kind of sucked the life out of us.”
Frederik Andersen was once again outplayed by a superior goalie, and once again it was Sergei Bobrovsky. Andersen couldn’t truly be blamed for any of Florida’s goals in Game 5, but he only posted an .831 save percentage in the conference final.
Despite consistent career playoff numbers (19-12, .906 save percentage, 2.02 GAA, 4.9 goals-saved above average), Andersen has not risen to outplay an opposing goalie for the Hurricanes. He has an .897 save percentage in seven career ECF games.
What Needs To Change For Carolina To Get Over The Hump?
Brind’Amour sounded almost offended when asked what the Hurricanes need to do to get over the hump.
Still, it was a valid question, since the Hurricanes have been ousted by either the Panthers or New York Rangers in four straight seasons. To his credit, Brind’Amour stated there is another level Carolina can get to to push past Florida.
“How do you think they play?” Brind’Amour said. “That’s been our game for a long time. They’ve kind of picked it up the last couple of years and made it that much better, so that’s what we’ve got to get.”
Yet, Brind’Amour also lamented the “negativity” surrounding the end of Carolina’s season, which seems hard to square. Sure, the Hurricanes lost free agents like Brett Pesce, Stefan Noesen, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Michael Bunting — then traded forwards Martin Necas and Jack Drury to acquire Mikko Rantanen before dealing Rantanen to Dallas.
But few pundits realistically predicted them to miss the playoffs entirely, as Brind’Amour said was possible.
“It’s the craziest thing that we’ve made it this far, and all we’re hearing is negativity,” he said. “This summer, with the pieces that left this organization, I thought ‘I don’t think we’re making the playoffs.’
“I have nothing but pride with this group.”
Pride aside, the Hurricanes have a huge off-season ahead of them, since general manager Eric Tulsky has more than $20 million in cap space to lure in marquee free agents or acquire those via trades. After the Rantanen saga, it’s fair to wonder if players — like Brad Marchand, Sam Bennett or anyone else — will sign in Carolina.
If the Canes can’t attract big fish, then they seem likely to fall victim to teams like Florida who have difference makers like Aleksander Barkov, who made the play of the series on Carter Verhaeghe’s series-clinching third-period goal.
“[Barkov] made a great play,” Brind’Amour said. “A lot of their goals were nice plays. They’re a great team.”
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