The Carolina Hurricanes were swept by the Florida Panthers in the NHL Eastern Conference Finals, but don’t tell their head coach.
Rod Brind’Amour spoke to reporters after the Hurricanes’ season ended, and despite what the score says, he doesn’t want to spread the word that his team was eliminated in a rather embarrassing way.
«That’s the unfortunate part of this, we’re going to look back and everyone will say you got swept and that’s not what happened,» Brind’Amour said. «I saw the game. I’m there. We’re in the game. We didn’t lose four games.»
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Referee Wes McCauley speaks with Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals at the FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida on Wednesday. (Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)
In fact, they lost four straight games, but he made his point.
«They beat us, but we were there,» he said. «This could have been backwards. It could have been four games backwards.»
In that sense, he is certainly right. Game 1 was the sixth longest game in NHL history, as it was a quadruple overtime thriller. Game 2 also ended in overtime. Game 3 was a 1-0 Panthers victory, and the fourth and final game was 4.6 seconds shy of going into overtime until Matthew Tkachuk found the back of the net, giving Florida the 4-win win. 3 and the sweep. (Tkachuk also scored the two overtime winners in the series.)
Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov, left, and left wing Matthew Tkachuk hold up the Prince of Wales Trophy after the Panthers won Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Carolina Hurricanes in Sunrise, Florida, on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
PANTHERS FANS ALMOST RETURN THE ROOF OF THE ARENA AFTER MATTHEW TKACHUK SENDS THE TEAM TO THE STANLEY CUP FINAL
The Hurricanes became the seventh team in NHL history to be swept in a series and lose every game by just one goal. The last time this happened was in 2018, when the Los Angeles Kings lost their series to the Vegas Golden Knights, who ultimately lost the Stanley Cup Final to the Washington Capitals.
Head coach Rod Brind’Amour of the Carolina Hurricanes looks on during the first period of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals at the FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida, on Monday. (Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)
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The Panthers are set to appear in their first Cup final since 1996 and await the series winner Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars, which Vegas is three games to nil.