Rod Brind’Amour Needs To Control The Carolina Hurricanes In Game 3

The Carolina Hurricanes need head coach Rod Brind’Amour to control them in Game 3.

For most of the season, Carolina Hurricanes first-year head coach Rod Brind’Amour was looked at as a dark horse Jack Adams contender. Why shouldn’t he have been considered after under his direction the Hurricanes team made the playoffs for the first time in ten years?

Even after the nominees were announced and Brind’Amour was left off the list, his playoff success in leading the Canes to the Eastern Conference final made it clear that hiring their former captain was clearly the right choice for a young Canes team.

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The mighty Hurricanes team that achieved a comeback victory versus the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals and accomplished a sweep of the New York Islanders last round seems nowhere to be found as Carolina whimpers back to Raleigh.

Carolina is down 2-0 to the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference Final, with little to no life in them since blowing a mid-game lead in Game 1. The second game in Boston was a complete and utter blowout for Boston, as they skated to a 6-2 victory.

The Hurricanes got lucky to get this far and maybe mismatched against a talented Bruins team, but if these two games have shown anything, it’s that the Bruins are in control as the Hurricanes lose helplessly.

While there’s only so much that Brind’Amour can do to control his team and their opposition, Game 2 proved he had no control of the situation at all. The loss wasn’t his fault, but his failure to take control of the situation could lead to the Hurricanes first postseason series loss since the 2009 Eastern Conference Final.

Goaltending

After Petr Mrazek was hurt in the second round versus the Islanders, Curtis McElhinney took over in the crease with a stellar performance to finish off the sweep of the Islanders. The Hurricanes have been using a split-start scenario with Mrazek and McElhinney all season.

Although Mrazek returned healthy in time for the Bruins matchup, Brind’Amour should have continued to ride McElhinney’s impressive performance and have him start instead.

So far in two games, Mrazek has put on a downright embarrassing performance, giving up 10 goals on 52 shots to the tune of an atrocious .808 save percentage. As the third period began with the Bruins holding a commanding 4-0 lead, Brind’Amour decided to keep him in goal in lieu of a change for McElhinney.

The Hurricanes are on the wrong end of a goaltending mismatch. Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask is a better goaltender than the two for one combo of Mrazek and McElhinney even on their best days.

Still, as we saw with Martin Jones getting pulled in the first round of San Jose’s playoff run, a goaltending change can be a changing factor for an entire series. Brind’Amour, who has not yet named a Game 3 starter, tried to justify his decision to keep Mrzaek in the game in an NHL.com article but does a poor job of proving his point.

Brind’Amour has not pulled a goalie for poor play all season and, after some thought, opted not to Sunday.“He’s a battler,” Brind’Amour said of Mrazek. “A lot of other guys on the bench deserved to come out if that’s how we’re doing it, but that’s not how we do it. If he wants to battle it out, that’s how we go about it.”

Then there was the little matter of penalties. The Hurricanes were on the receiving end of some poor officiating in Game 1, but began to let their frustrations and anger get the best of them as the second game rolled around. The most-watched highlight out of Sunday’s game that didn’t involve goal scoring was an odd little encounter between Brad Marchand of the Bruins and Carolina’s captain Justin Williams.

Marchand is a pest at best, a dirty player at worst, and Williams had a right to be upset at the lack of high sticking call. Retaliation was not only expected, but desired, especially from a player like Marchand. He wanted to draw a penalty, and Williams was expected to react, but instead put on a weird theatrical display of aggression.

Instead of some shoving or checking across the board, which you could more than argue Marchand deserves after that no call, Williams grabs his neck in a weird motion before taunting and unbuckling his helmet. Marchand looks like a well-behaved child, while Williams looked like the kid who should be sent to the principal’s office.

Even with the no calls and agitated Hurricanes, Carolina received twice the amount of power plays that Boston did. The only difference was Boston converted on both their opportunities while Carolina went 0 for 4. That adds to Boston’s two power-play goals in Game 1 to give the Bruins a staggering four power-play goals in the first two games.

The Bruins are the Bruins, and we can sit here all day and argue Marchand should play nicer and all those arguments that have been said a million times before, or we can look at the reality of the situation.

Instead of letting Boston get to him and his team, Brind’Amour needs to make it clear they have to remain disciplined after all their playoff lives depend on it. Frustration took over all aspects of the Hurricanes, from the bench to the goalie to the players.

Those are the chances Boston waits for. They want the Hurricanes to have a hot head moment, draw a penalty, and capitalize on it with their unquestionable talent. Carolina’s penalty kill needs a lot of work too, but for now, the first step is not taking those penalties in the first place.

While Carolina seemingly cake walked out of the second round, luck and adversity have caught up to them. More than anything, Brind’Amour’s decision to leave Mrazek in net was confusing and complacent, suggesting the former play may be over his head against Bruce Cassidy. Carolina has yet to lose on home ice, and the Bruins want to be the ones to break that streak. If Boston wins game three, they take a 3-0 lead over a deflated Carolina team.

Carolina went farther than anyone thought they’d go in these playoffs, which should be reason for celebration, but still a reason to win. They’re outmatched in almost every category against Boston, but that doesn’t mean they should go down without a fight. Hopefully, Brind’Amour can instill some of that fight in his team for game three on home ice.