Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said his team needs to be more careful when reacting to the Florida Panthers’ style of provoking their opponents.
“We know that’s how they do things,” he said on Wednesday, after Florida won Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals 5-2. “Find a way not to let that get to you. Stick to what is going to win us games.”
A major concern in Game 1 was center Sebastian Aho’s roughing penalty on Florida’s Anton Lundell at 6:59 in the first period. That penalty canceled out a Carolina power play and led to Carter Verhaeghe scoring the game’s first goal during a Panthers power play. Aho reacted after being cross-checked by Lundell. Only Aho’s retaliation was penalized.
“I mean, the first penalty is bad call, right? You’re going to have those. But that’s my thing: Retaliation penalties are not going to get it done,” Brind’Amour said. “We did a pretty good job with \[retaliation], but it just takes one. That’s my point. You can’t have that one, because that really puts you behind the game and now it’s different.”
The Hurricanes are unbeaten in the playoffs when scoring first (5-0) but are 3-3 when they don’t. Before Game 1, their penalty kill had been strong — stopping 14 of 15 power plays at home and 28 of 30 total. But Florida scored twice on three power plays in the first game.
“They made us pay. It’s a good team that knows how to score goals and finds way to win games when you make mistakes,” said Carolina captain Jordan Staal. “We’ve got to limit those mistakes.”
Another incident of retaliation came in the third period when Hurricanes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere fired the puck at Florida’s Brad Marchand. In this case, Carolina wasn’t hurt, as Marchand got a double minor for roughing and a 10-minute misconduct.
Carolina Hurricanes (NHL)“Just heated. I was pretty pissed off. He tried to take a run at me. I shot the puck at him. We had a little \[tussle],” Gostisbehere said.
After the game, Florida players and coach Paul Maurice didn’t say much about the incident.
“It happens. It’s what it is. I mean, we block shots all the time, so what’s the difference?” said Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad.
That attitude shows in how calm the Panthers stay during games. Known for being physical and frustrating opponents — traits that helped them win the Stanley Cup last season — the Panthers can both deliver and take hits.
A good example came in Game 1 when Carolina players frequently crashed into Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. At one point, forward Andrei Svechnikov’s hip hit Bobrovsky in the head. Still, Bobrovsky stayed focused and his teammates didn’t respond with retaliation.
“It’s OK. It’s the playoffs. They try to get under the skin. I just focus on my things and try not to think about that,” Bobrovsky said after the game.
Maurice complimented his goalie’s calmness.
“Sergei’s not a kid. He’s been through it. He’s been bumped. He’s just developed a skill set that it just doesn’t bother him,” Maurice said. “No one likes getting elbowed in the head, but it won’t be the first time or the last time.”
Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals is Thursday night in Raleigh. The Hurricanes have now dropped 13 straight games in this round of the playoffs, including five in a row to the Panthers.
