Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour pinpoints Game 1 downfall while getting blitzed by Canadiens

The Carolina Hurricanes came into Game 1 against the Montreal Canadiens without a loss in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Then, the Hurricanes were blown out by the Canadiens.

After a strong start to the game, with Seth Jarvis scoring 30 seconds into the contest, the Canadiens blitzed the Hurricanes. It was 4-1 at the end of the first period, and Canes head coach Rod Brind’Amour explained what happened to Jackie Redmond of TNT between periods.

“We weren’t ready for the pace,” Brind’Amour said. “I don’t know what I watched in the first period. I haven’t seen that ever. Give the other team credit, they made plays. They made plays, and they got us, but I didn’t really know what we were doing.”

Cole Caufield responded to the Jarvis goal just 30 seconds later, and Phillip Danault would give the Canadiens the lead 4:04 into the game. It was just the third time in the playoffs so far that Carolina had trailed in a game, and the first time they had trailed after scoring the opening goal.

The onslaught would continue, though. Alexandre Texier made it 3-1 before Ivan Demidov scored his third goal of the playoffs, making it 4-1 just 11:32 into the game. Carolina never recovered. While they scored a goal in the second period, the Canes gave up two more in the third, and struggled to even get shots off, according to hockey insider Elliotte Friedman.

“Barring any adjustments, Carolina went 18:38 without a shot in the third period,” Friedman posted on X, formerly Twitter.

The Hurricanes now look to move forward and rebound in the series. They will get their next shot at the Canadiens in Game 2 on Saturday night.

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