Carolina Hurricanes’ Rod Brind’Amour & Players Make Adjustments Before Game 2 – Hockey Writers – Carolina Hurricanes

After a big loss on Tuesday night, Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour and several players gathered for a 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 loss in Game 1, some positives and corrections come on their video day on Wednesday (June 3). Here’s what they said to the media after some questions came up Hockey Writers.

Sean Walker

After taking a 2-0 lead in Game 1, the Hurricanes’ defense had trouble clearing pucks, especially in the second half, when the Vegas Golden Knights scored two to take the lead. However, the Hurricanes were able to close the game, tying it twice. Unfortunately, they came up short after Tomas’ Hertl’s late third-period game-winner. Shayne Gostisbehere said after the game 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 tough for sure.”

During the day’s media availability, when asked how the team can defend and get back to their game-tying game in Game 2 on Thursday night, Sean Walker said “I think some of the things, execution-wise, we can do a better job.

The Hurricanes have fallen behind in the playoffs, especially after Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Although the Golden Knights are a different team, the belief remains that they will correct the small mistakes and make the necessary adjustments for Game 2. The defense and the team as a whole will be looking to increase the series on Thursday night before the series goes west. Over the course of the season and 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 changes, especially following their Game 1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference finals. Jalen Chatfield said the team watched video today and saw the changes they could make as a defensive unit.

When asked about the confidence of the defense team, especially going back to Game 2 and even in the series, he said “he has a lot. I think this is what this team has been all year. Going back, facing difficulties, and understanding what it takes to win. We know what we have here and what we can do. Tomorrow, I expect us to play our best.”

The defense struggled early in the season with injuries to most of the team besides Walker and they made changes along the way. They will be looking to return to the structure that has worked all season and make small changes to prevent a Golden Knights team that makes their opponents pay. With the way the defense has been run under Tim Gleason and the way this team has bought in all season, it wouldn’t be surprising to bounce back in Game 2.

Sebastian Aho

There has been a lot of talk during the playoffs about how the Hurricanes top line needs to find a way to play consistently night in and night out. Although the second line is the best, the bottom six have been looking good. The first line has achieved some goals, but not as much as people had hoped. The top power play unit has also been underperforming, including three guys from the starting lineup.

When asked how they’re trying to make changes as a top line and a high power play unit, Sebastian Aho said “Every day you talk about it, you watch the video, you can try to find that on the rim. But at the same time, the power play comes down to making the pass, quality shooting, right? There are other things you can check first, talk about it, but just bring those things up. Last night, the power play, we got one there in the second; the goalie was on the left post, wide open net, and you just missed the net It came down to that little pass and shot.

The line of Aho, Seth Jarvis, and Andrei Svechnikov knows they are expected to score. Right now, they were mainly blocking the opposition, but they can’t rely on the second line and the depth to do all the work. If the top line and top power play unit can continue, the Hurricanes can get a big lead and put games away against the Golden Knights.

Rod Brind’Amour

It’s no wonder Brind’Amour can keep guys focused, while getting them to learn from past mistakes, correct them, and get ready for the next game. Confidence is still high in the team even after losing the first game.

When asked about the process of learning to play in Game 2, he said, “I think we’re confident because we know we can be better. If we had played our best game and had that result, I think it would have been a different feeling. It was like the last series, where there were a lot of areas we didn’t like in our game, and you just can’t win if you don’t have a chance to play the other team. You don’t play that way it just doesn’t happen – we try but we have to be sharp in many areas.”

The Hurricanes have made comebacks before in the regular season and in these tournaments. It will come down to responding to a loss and getting a win Thursday night in Game 2 to bring the series back to Las Vegas 1-1. They haven’t lost back-to-back games this postseason, and the belief is that they will be able to keep that streak going.