Hurricanes Morning Thoughts: Brind’Amour on Defense & Bottom Six Impact – The Hockey Writers – Carolina Hurricanes

Following the Carolina Hurricanes’ morning skate on Monday, head coach Rod Brind’Amour met with the media ahead of tonight’s Game 2 versus the Philadelphia Flyers. The Hockey Writers asked Brind’Amour about his confidence in his defense and the impact of the team’s bottom six so far.

Hurricanes’ Defense Locking It Down

Defense has been the team’s strong suit under Brind’Amour. Former teammate and defense coach Tim Gleason has also helped make sure the group is dialed in. With that, the Hurricanes have only given up five goals through five games and rank first on the penalty kill in the playoffs (96%).

When asked about his and Gleason’s confidence in his blue line this postseason, Brind’Amour said, “That’s a big part of our game. Tim has worked on the defense exceptionally well through the years, and we understand to know when we’re playing right and look a certain way. It was certainly the other night. It’s about what you’ve done for me lately. You’ve got to turn around and do it again. That’s the key.”

With Alexander Nikishin missing from Game 1 of their second-round series after suffering a concussion in Game 4 of Round 1, Mike Reilly stepped up, tallying two assists in his absence. Otherwise, the core is fully healthy and humming along. Jaccob Slavin, Sean Walker, K’Andre Miller, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Jalen Chatfield are successfully shutting things down, and it helps that, whether at 5-on-5 or on the penalty kill, everyone knows their roles and does their job effectively.

Most of the attention has been on the second line of Logan Stankoven, Jackson Blake, and Taylor Hall. The trio has a combined 21 points through five games. Brind’amour has always preached that players must do their jobs off the scoresheet, and it’s just as important to play their role.

When asked about the bottom six doing their jobs, regardless of being held off the scoresheet, Brind’Amour said, “They’re big parts of our team. Everybody is, and they all have roles. It’s specific things they do. We have to do it if we want to be successful. Those guys have a certain role in the way they play. When they do that, which is most nights, we have a good chance to win.”

The bottom six have contributed on the scoresheet with assists, along with Jordan Martinook’s double overtime game-winning goal in Game 2 of Round 1 against the Ottawa Senators, but their shutdown presence and putting pressure on opponents have been equally important. Physicality has increased this postseason more than we’ve seen from the team in previous playoffs. With William Carrier leading the team in hits (30) to Jordan Staal and Martinook playing a suffocating style of two-way play, it’s been tough to beat the Hurricanes in battles.

The Hurricanes have a chance to take a 2-0 series lead tonight before the series heads to Philadelphia. They’ve not trailed through five games and are hoping to keep that trend going. The team is rolling with a strong forechecking game and a relentless tempo. As long as they stick to what is working and do not let up on the Flyers, they have a solid chance to leave Raleigh with two wins.