The Carolina Hurricanes are in real danger of getting swept for the fourth time in a row in the Eastern Conference Finals after slumping to a 5-0 blowout loss against the Florida Panthers on Thursday, May 22. Carolina head coach Rod Brind’Amour did not mince words after the game, expressing his frustration with the team’s disjointed performance.
Rod Brind’Amour’s Blunt Take on Andrei Svechnikov’s Poor Performance
Brind’Amour singled out Andrei Svechnikov, one of Carolina’s key forwards, who struggled to find his feet on the night.
“He had a tough night. I know he’s trying, but we have to do it within the way we need to. Be on the same page. And he was on his own page. Didn’t work,” Brind’Amour said in the postgame press conference.
“He had a tough night. He's trying, but you’ve got to be on the same page, and he was on his own page. It didn't work.”
– @Canes coach Rod Brind'Amour on Andrei Svechnikov in Game 2 of the ECF
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski)
Svechnikov, who has been a top producer for the Canes in the playoffs with 8 goals and 2 assists in 12 games played, made mistakes that were directly responsible for two of Florida’s goals. He lost possession of the puck in Carolina’s defensive zone, with the turnover leading to the Panthers’ Gustav Forsling finding the back of the net. In another instance, he lost possession after being slammed into the boards by Florida forward Sam Bennett, resulting in another goal.
Forsling opened the scoring just 77 seconds into the game, followed by goals from forwards Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett, the latter on a power play, in the first period. Bennett added his second of the night late in the second period, and team captain Aleksander Barkov finished the scoring with a power-play goal in the third. Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky made 17 saves for his third shutout of the playoffs.
“We had a good game, a complete game again,” Bobrovsky said via NHL.com. “We skated, we worked hard, we were relentless. The group of guys are outstanding. It’s a privilege to be the goalie for this team.”
The Canes’ misery was compounded by injuries, with forwards Sean Walker and Seth Jarvis both leaving the game for evaluation and defenseman Jalen Chatfield missing his third straight contest. Brind’Amour also pulled starting goalie Frederik Andersen in the second period after he allowed four goals on 16 shots.
“It wouldn’t have mattered who we had in net tonight. Wasn’t on him (Andersen),” the Carolina HC said after the game.
The puck drops for Game 3 of the series on Saturday, May 24, at 8 p.m. ET, in the Amerant Bank Arena, with the Canes facing the steep task of defeating Florida on the latter’s home ice to stay alive in the series.