The Carolina Hurricanes were swept out of the Eastern Conference Final after losing game four in Florida on Wednesday, but that does not tell the full story at least according to head coach Rod Brind’Amour.
The Carolina Hurricanes lost four of the closest games you could possibly have in a Stanley Cup playoff series. Three of the games went to overtime while the final game was won with a goal in the final seconds of the third period. After the series was over and the handshake line was complete, Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour had some interesting words to say about his team getting swept in four games.
"“That’s the unfortunate part of this is that we’re going to look back and everyone’s going to say you got swept and that’s not what happened. I watched the game. I’m there. We’re in the game. We didn’t lose four games. We got beat, but we were right there. This could have went the other way. It could have been four games the other way.”– Rod Brind’Amour while speaking with the media after the Hurricanes were swept in the ECF"
While Brind’Amour might have a point about how close the series was, the Carolina Hurricanes did get swept in the Eastern Conference Final.
Despite what Rod Brind’Amour says the Carolina Hurricanes did get swept
This is the second time in Rod Brind’Amour’s career as a coach that his team has been swept in the Conference Final, and it actually has happened three times in a row now dating back to the 2008-09 season when Paul Maurice was the coach of the Canes and Brind’Amour was still playing on the team.
The Hurricanes have been swept out of the Conference Final three times in a row now in 2009 they lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Then in 2019 they lost to the Boston Bruins before losing now in 2023 to the Florida Panthers. This time definitely is different though because of how they lost.
Losing three overtime games in a row has got to sting, as does losing in the final seconds of another close game, but that in mind, it is still a loss. There are no points handed out when a game gets to overtime in the postseason, a loss is a loss.
“We didn’t lose four games. We got beat but…we were right there.”
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 25, 2023
Rod Brind'Amour doesn't see the ECF as a true "sweep" 👀 pic.twitter.com/pU4yC52pIm
This was without a doubt, one of the most entertaining Conference Final series in recent memory. Despite it being a sweep, the Hurricanes and Panthers were very evenly matched, but at the end of the day the Panthers were the ones who found a way to get that final goal to end each game.
The Hurricanes now enter the 2023 offseason with questions heading into next season. Jesper Fast, Jordan Staal, Frederik Andersen, Antti Raanta and Jesse Puljujarvi are just a few of the big names without a contract for this upcoming year. Additionally, Teuvo Teravainen and Sebastian Aho are both a year away from free agency, as are Martin Necas and Seth Jarvis.
General manager Don Waddell has a lot of big decisions ahead of him. While a sweep in the conference final definitely stings, overall this team had a really impressive season, and they are poised to continue along that path next year.