{"id":441,"date":"2026-05-24T20:07:56","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T20:07:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=441"},"modified":"2026-05-24T20:07:56","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T20:07:56","slug":"hurricanes-stick-to-winning-script-to-even-series-against-canadiens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=441","title":{"rendered":"Hurricanes stick to winning script to even series against Canadiens"},"content":{"rendered":"
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RALEIGH, N.C. \u2014 Rod Brind\u2019Amour didn\u2019t see a need to juggle his lineup or massively adjust the scheme after an ugly first period cost the Carolina Hurricanes any chance to win their Eastern Conference Final opener.<\/p>\n

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No, the issue was as simple as getting to their game, with the precision and edge they had shown in sweeping through the first two playoff rounds.<\/p>\n

Following that approach got the Eastern Conference\u2019s top seed back into their series against the Montreal Canadiens as play moves to Canada for Monday\u2019s Game 3. And it offers the roadmap entering what is now a best-of-five series for a trip to the Stanley Cup Final.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just tried to keep it real after Game 1: We needed a better effort,\u201d defenseman K\u2019Andre Miller said Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know how we can play Hurricane hockey and we know we\u2019re at our best when we can get to our game. So I think it was just a matter of looking (at) the man in the mirror and bringing your best effort for Game 2.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Canadiens won Game 1 by jumping on a team coming off an 11-day break \u2014 the longest wait to start a series in more than a century \u2014 scoring four goals in the opening 11 1\/2 minutes. Montreal repeatedly got loose for clean breakouts and breakaways against Frederik Andersen in that one.<\/p>\n

The lone positive from that game was the Hurricanes played more of their preferred style in the second period. Otherwise, Brind\u2019Amour said they needed to toss it and move on, even saying the team wouldn\u2019t go through an on-ice practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not what we need,\u201d he said Friday.<\/p>\n

Carolina responded Saturday night by looking closer to its previous playoff form with its aggressive forecheck, controlling the puck in the offensive zone and winning battles along the boards to minimize the chances going the other way. The Hurricanes held the Canadiens to 12 shots on goal while surrendering far fewer unchecked sprints through the neutral zone that led to such Game 1 trouble.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think all the way through it was more Carolina Hurricane hockey in Game 2 and we\u2019ll try to keep building on that,\u201d captain Jordan Staal said.<\/p>\n

Then there is the pressure to break through to the Stanley Cup Final in Carolina\u2019s third Eastern final in four years and fourth in the current eight-year postseason run under Brind\u2019Amour. Carolina was swept in this round against Boston in 2019 and Florida in 2023, then fell in five games in last year\u2019s rematch with the Panthers.<\/p>\n

Read more Guide Kenton Cool scales Everest for the 20th time and says not ready to quit yet<\/a><\/p>\n

The Hurricanes were 1-13 under Brind\u2019Amour in the Eastern Conference Final before winning Game 2 on Nikolaj Ehlers\u2019 overtime goal. And the franchise\u2019s struggles in this round go back even to Brind\u2019Amour\u2019s playing days in a 2009 sweep against Pittsburgh, with Carolina losing 10 straight home conference-final games since beating Buffalo in Game 7 on the way to hoisting the Cup in 2006 with Brind\u2019Amour as captain.<\/p>\n

This is the first time the Hurricanes haven\u2019t found themselves in an 0-2 hole in this round since that year, too.<\/p>\n

Brind\u2019Amour dismissed talk of past struggles by noting \u201cthere\u2019s too much to worry about right now\u201d with corralling the young and fearless Canadiens.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now it\u2019s so day-to-day focused, shift-focused eventually, that you can\u2019t think like that,\u201d Staal said.<\/p>\n

The good news for the Canadiens was they continued to show an ultra-opportunistic approach to attacking any opening, down to forcing OT and being a goal away from a 2-0 series lead despite being outplayed most of Saturday.<\/p>\n

Josh Anderson\u2019s first goal at the 11:11 mark of the opening period came on the Canadiens\u2019 first shot on goal, set up by Taylor Hall\u2019s failed clear attempt that was kept in at the blue line by Kaiden Guhle. Anderson\u2019s second came on a third-period rebound of his own shot in a multi-player scramble in front of the crease after Carolina couldn\u2019t get that puck cleared, either.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a familiar story for Montreal, notably going back to how they won Game 7 on the road of the first-round series against Tampa Bay despite getting just nine shots on goal. Or how they regrouped from blowing a 2-0 lead in Game 7 at Buffalo to win that second-round series in overtime.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can take one play in a game to change the whole mood and the energy,\u201d Montreal captain Nick Suzuki said Sunday. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of opportunistic guys, and we trust the style. \u2026 So if you can get through those moments, there\u2019s usually something good on the other side of that.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve done that all playoffs, and I don\u2019t really see that changing. I think we can win any type of game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Box Office: \u2018Mandalorian and Grogu\u2019 tops charts and \u2018Obsession\u2019 grows in second weekend<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rod Brind’Amour didn’t see a need to juggle his lineup or massively adjust the scheme after an ugly first period cost the Carolina Hurricanes any chance to win their Eastern Conference Final opener.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":440,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[142],"tags":[375,377,374,376],"class_list":["post-441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-carolina-hurricanes","tag-eastern-conference-final","tag-montreal-canadiens","tag-rod-brindamour"],"yoast_head":"\nHurricanes stick to winning script to even series against Canadiens - Home Buyer Relocation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=441\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hurricanes stick to winning script to even series against Canadiens - 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