Goodnews: Hurricanes found strategy to write their name in the NHL playoff

The Carolina Hurricanes were only a humiliating 60 minutes away from being eliminated from the NHL playoffs after dropping a string of close games.

Nevertheless, head coach Rod Brind’Amour insisted that his players needed to persevere because they were performing well in certain areas.

In their second-round series against the Presidents’ Trophy-winning New York Rangers, the Hurricanes have found renewed vigor thanks to what at the time seemed to be little more than a hopeful appraisal.

After trailing 3-0 in the series, the Hurricanes have won two straight, including Game 5 at Madison Square Garden thanks to a strong third quarter. And it has resulted from Carolina mainly sticking with what helped them to the playoffs for the sixth time in as many seasons, choosing little adjustments over significant ones—even in dire circumstances.

“We need to improve on certain aspects of our game right now,” Brind’Amour stated in a Zoom call with media on Tuesday. “To what extent do you juggle it all at once? And does that truly improve you in the near run?

“You have to rely on the fact that you did something right to get here, because that’s how you got to be playing in the playoffs against the best team in the league.”

The wager has paid off thus far, as Carolina will try to tie the series in Thursday’s home Game 6.

After the victory on Monday, captain Jordan Staal remarked, “We trusted our game and it ended up paying off.”

Changes have been made, such to the power play before Game 4 of what has been an incredibly difficult series for the team. Defenseman Brady Skjei and forward Tuevo Teravainen were placed in the top unit by Carolina, and it was Skjei who scored the game’s lone goal in a 1-for-20 effort. Skjei’s late winner sealed the series victory.

Otherwise, Brind’Amour has essentially left the lines as is in the series, other than making Evgeny Kuznetsov a healthy scratch in Game 2 for Max Comtois.

However, with them threatening to emerge from it, the plans that were in place when they fell into that enormous series hole are essentially the same as they are today. At even strength, Carolina is currently leading New York 16-15 in the series overall and 12-9 overall.

Four power-play goals and two short-handed goals—the second from Jacob Trouba for the 1-0 lead in Game 5 that put Carolina on the verge of elimination until its third-period explosion—have given the Rangers the upper hand.

Brind’Amour remarked, “You do make adjustments as you go, but you do fight that a lot.” If something isn’t functioning, do you just blow everything up? Do you think these guys can finish the job? You always struggle with that. Ultimately, I think you simply need to have faith in your guys.

Starting with Staal, he didn’t have to search far for validation.

The 35-year-old captain has been an important component of Carolina’s relentless forecheck and a solid defensive presence, but entering Monday, he had not scored in any of the first nine postseason games despite having 23 shots. He skated immediately in off the bench, however, and broke through with the game-tying goal, beating Igor Shesterkin early in the third period after receiving a feed from Dmitry Orlov, who waited for the change beyond the blue line before delivering.

According to Bet MGM Sportsbook, Carolina began the NHL playoffs as the favorite to win the Stanley Cup, finishing three points behind the Rangers for the Presidents’ Trophy, which is given to the top team in the regular-season standings.

The Hurricanes are still in danger of losing. With a victory on Thursday, though, they can tie the series and completely pressure the Rangers to avert just the sixth 3-0 collapse in postseason history.

As of Sunday, Kuznetsov had likened Game 5 to “one bowl of food and two dogs.” He scored the game-winning goal three minutes after Staal’s goal. After Monday’s victory, he continued using that image, referring to the series as “a dogfight now.”

Kuznetsov remarked, “I’m so grateful to have these moments,” and continued, “What we’re trying to do the last four days, we’re just living it day by day and doing what’s best available with our opportunities.”