Carolina Hurricanes’ Rod Brind’Amour & Players Making Adjustments Ahead of Game 2 – The Hockey Writers – Carolina Hurricanes

Following a close loss Tuesday night, Carolina Hurricanes’ head coach Rod Brind’Amour and a few players met up for media availability between Games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. While the Hurricanes are down 1-0 in the series after their 5-4 defeat in Game 1, some positives and adjustments are coming from their video day on Wednesday (June 3). Here is what they said to media after some questions from The Hockey Writers.

Sean Walker

After taking a 2-0 lead in Game 1, the Hurricanes’ defense had some struggles clearing pucks, especially in the second period, when the Vegas Golden Knights scored two to take the lead. However, the Hurricanes did manage to keep the game close, tying it twice. Unfortunately, they came up short after Tomas’ Hertl late third-period game winner. Shayne Gostisbehere mentioned postgame that “it was a back-and-forth game for sure. So it’s good to be out there and see how the series goes. It’s going to be a tough one for sure.”

During the off-day media availability, when asked how the team can adjust defensively and get back to their shutdown style in Game 2 on Thursday night, Sean Walker stated “I think just some of the things, execution-wise, we can get a better job of. Key points: breaking out the puck; most of their goals were being scored from the inner slot. A lot of quick plays; that’s something we’ll be looking to shut down next game, for sure.”

The Hurricanes have bounced back before in the playoffs, especially after Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final. While the Golden Knights are a different team, the belief is still there that they ca fix the small mistakes and make the necessary adjustments for Game 2. The defense and team as a whole will be seeking to even up the series on Thursday night before the series shifts out west. Over the course of the season and the playoffs, the Hurricanes have shown they can adapt and be ready for the next game.

Jalen Chatfield

Throughout the season and especially in the playoffs, the Hurricanes have made adjustments, specificallyy following their Game 1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference Final. Jalen Chatfield mentioned the team watched video today and saw some adjustments they could make as a defensive unit.

When asked about the confidence in the defense, especially to bounce back in Game 2 to even the series he said he had “a lot. I think this is what this group has been all year. Just bouncing back, facing adversity, and understanding what it takes to win. We know what we have in here and are capable of. Tomorrow, I expect us to play our best.”

The defense battled early in the season with injuries to most of the group outside of Walker and made adjustments along the way. They’ll be looking to get back to a structure that’s been working all season and to make small tweaks to stifle a Golden Knights team that makes their opponents pay. With the way the defense is run under Tim Gleason and how this group has bought in all season, it won’t be a surprise to see a bounce back in Game 2.

Sebastian Aho

It’s been mentioned a lot during the playoffs how the Hurricanes top line needs to find a way to play consistently night in and night out. While the second line has been leading the way, the bottom six have been getting their looks as well. The first line has tallied some goals, but not as much as people hoped. The top power-play unit hasn’t been doing well either, which features three of the guys are from the first line.

When asked about how they’re trying to make adjustments as the top line and top power-play unit as well, Sebastian Aho said “Every day you talk about it, you watch video, you can try to find that edge. But at the same time, the power play comes down to executing the pass, quality shots, right? There are some things you can pre-scout, talk about, but it comes down to those things. Obviously, it’s just figuring that part out. Last night, the power play, we got one look there on the second one; the goalie was on the left post, wide open net, and just missed the net. It comes down to that last little pass quality and shot.”

The line of Aho, Seth Jarvis, and Andrei Svechnikov knows that they are expected to score goals. Right now, they’ve been mainly shutting the opposition down, but they cannot rely on the second line and the depth to do all the work. If the top line and top power-play unit can get rolling, the Hurricanes can get a sizeable lead and put games away against the Golden Knights.

Rod Brind’Amour

It’s no surprise that Brind’Amour can keep the guys focused, while also getting them to learn from past mistakes, fix them, and be ready for the next game. The confidence is still high around the team even after the Game 1 loss.

When asked about the process of learning to execute in Game 2, he stated, “I think we’re confident because we know we can be better. If we had played our best game and had that outcome, I think there would be a different feel. It was kind of similar to the last series, where there were a lot of areas we didn’t like in our game, and you’re just not going to win when you don’t play to your abilities. You have to give the other team a lot of credit. They’re making you not play that way. It’s not just happening — we’re trying. But we do have to be sharper in a lot of areas. I think that’s the positive, we definitely have room to get better.”

The Hurricanes have come back before during the regular season and in these playoffs. It’ll come down to responding to the loss and getting a win on Thursday night in Game 2 to take the series back to Las Vegas 1-1. They have not lost back-to-back games this postseason, and the belief is they will be able to keep that trend going.