The Carolina Hurricanes were facing elimination in the NHL playoffs after losing several close games in their series against the New York Rangers.
However, coach Rod Brind’Amour remained confident in his team’s performance despite the tough situation. This faith has paid off as the Hurricanes have managed to win two consecutive games, including a strong performance in Game 5.
Rather than making drastic changes, the team has stuck to their usual style of play, making only minor adjustments. Brind’Amour emphasized the importance of trusting in what had brought them success throughout the season, especially when facing tough opponents like the Rangers in the playoffs.
The decision to stick with their game plan has worked out well for Carolina so far, as they now have a chance to tie the series in Game 6 at home.
“We believed in our approach, and it paid off,” said team captain Jordan Staal after Monday’s victory.
There have been some adjustments, particularly to the power play strategy before Game 4, as the unit had struggled throughout the series.
Carolina made changes to the top unit, adding defenseman Brady Skjei and forward Tuevo Teravainen, who combined for Skjei’s crucial late goal in Game 4. Despite this, the power play has struggled, scoring only once in 20 attempts.
Other than these tweaks, coach Brind’Amour has kept the lines mostly unchanged throughout the series, except for substituting Evgeny Kuznetsov with Max Comtois in Game 2.
Interestingly, the plans that were set in motion when they were down in the series remain largely the same as they are now fighting to make a comeback. Carolina has now outscored New York 16-15 and 12-9 at even strength.
The Rangers have had the upper hand with four power-play goals and two short-handed goals, including one by Jacob Trouba in Game 5, which gave them a 1-0 lead before Carolina’s impressive third-period comeback.
