Following the conclusion of Game 2 of the East Final, the Carolina Hurricanes head coach, Rod Brind’Amour, discussed his team’s performance against the Montreal Canadiens. On Saturday, the Hurricanes found a way to secure a 3-2 win in Game 2 in overtime to level the playoff series at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, NC.

While Brind’Amour acknowledged the reporters for alluding to their volume shooting in front of the goal, he was actually pleased about what they made out of it. Carolina had 26 shots at the goal compared to just 12 for Montreal on the day.

“Everyone says we like to shoot a lot. I don’t know which team doesn’t like to shoot. I guess that’s just kind of a weird thing… You look at where we are shooting those; you are right; we are right there, getting those sticks on,” he said.​

It was in the first period when Carolina went 1-0 ahead at 2:33 when Eric Robinson redirected a shot from William Carrier, going past the left pad of the Canadiens' goaltender Jakub Dobes after he initially went to his right. 

Brind’Amour was happy about getting this particular type of goal at home, but still wanted more from his players.

“We got to find a way to get in. We got the first one… Three minutes into the game,” the Hurricanes head coach remarked. “There you go, there is a shot that we get to the front of that, and you get a little stick on it. Didn’t get one for the rest of the night, right? But… keep trying, I mean.”

Brind’Amour also compared the two teams competing in the high-stakes East Final. Game 2 was theirs, but in Game 1, the Canadiens routed his team 6-2 in a great offensive display in Raleigh.

Canadiens Put Up a Fight Before Losing 

After going behind 1-0 early with a goal from Eric Robinson, the Montreal Canadiens leveled it 1-1 through Josh Anderson. The winger got his name on the scoresheet with a deflected effort off the Hurricanes defenseman Alexander Nikishin at 11:11 in the first period.

The hosts took back the lead through Nikolaj Ehlers’ incredible solo goal in front of a rocking crowd at Lenovo Center. He got the job done with 17:03 left on the clock in the second period.

Anderson helped the Canadiens force overtime after coming from behind and making it 2-2 with 12:51 remaining in the third period. He scored a poacher’s goal after a huge scramble on Carolina goaltender Frederik Andersen’s net front.

Ultimately, Ehlers gave the Hurricanes a massive victory 3:39 into overtime after going past Jakub Dobes from the slot, to send the home fans into complete ecstasy.

Game 3 of the East Final will go down at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC, on Monday, May 25. 

Who do you think will win this game and take a 2-1 playoff series lead? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Arjun Sharma

Edited by

Zaid Quraishi