Islanders hand Canes 2-1 loss in OT in season opener
Rod Brind’Amour knew that being a head coach would mean being able to handle both good wins and tough losses.
Brind’Amour’s first game as head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday was a tough loss. The Canes tied the score late in regulation but then lost 2-1 on Josh Bailey’s power-play score at 43 seconds of OT at PNC Arena.
“I thought it was a good game,” Brind’Amour said. “We did exactly what we wanted to do but unfortunately didn’t score (enough).”
The Canes tied it 1-1 on Jordan Staal’s goal with 1:35 left in regulation after Brind’Amour pulled goalie Petr Mrazek for a sixth attacker. Defenseman Dougie Hamilton got off a one-timer from the right wing with Staal and Micheal Ferland in front of goalie Thomas Greiss, the puck glancing off Staal and into the net.
After a lengthy review, with the sellout crowd chanting “Goal! Goal!” the ruling was upheld: a good goal.
But Ferland was called for tripping Mathew Barzal with 3.2 seconds left in regulation, allowing the Isles to go into overtime on a four-on-three power play. Bailey ended it quickly with a shot from the right wing.
“We’re planning on playing more a lot more than 82 games this year but this was just one and one that didn’t go our way,” Canes captain Justin Williams said.
Valtteri Filppula’s score at 9:27 of the second period gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead and Greiss. again playing well against the Canes, wouldn’t be beaten until the final 95 seconds of regulation as Barry Trotz won his first game as the Islanders head coach.
There was much to celebrate for the Canes going into the game: Brind’Amour getting his chance, Williams’ 37th birthday, the NHL debut of Andrei Svechnikov and the Hurricanes debut of Hamilton, Calvin de Haan, Ferland and Jordan Martinook.
And Mrazek. Signed as a free agent in the offseason, Mrazek was the starting goaltender in the opener.
“I thought our goalie played great,” Brind’Amour said. “Petr kept us in it.”
The Canes, with had five rookie forwards in the lineup, had no problem getting shots. They had 46 to the Isles’ 20 and had several shots find posts or the crossbar.
“It’s the way we want to play,” Staal said. “We were aggressive and on them and created a lot. It’s what we want to do every night.”
By the third period, Brind’Amour had Martin Necas and Svechnikov, both teenagers, on the same line, looking for something good.
The game had all the trappings of a Canes season opener at home: thousands of tailgaters around PNC Arena, a band playing, pleasant weather, good times for all in the hours leading up to the game.
Almost eight hours before game time, after the Canes’ morning skate, Brind’Amour said he wasn’t sure how he would fill the time, that his pregame routine wasn’t yet set. Maybe just stay at the arena, he said. “There’s a lot to do. There’s always something to do,” he said.
After Petey Pablo, he of the Canes’ new goal song, sounded the siren, the players were introduced. Williams was last, receiving the biggest ovation. He skated out of the players’ line, asking that his teammates surround him and join in raising their sticks, a salute to an excited, towel-waving crowd.
The first period was filled with more energy than execution, by both teams. The Canes outshot the Isles 16-7 and Justin Faulk and Svechnikov had attempts hit the iron.
In the second period, an alert Sebastian Aho saved the Canes, sweeping away the puck inches from the goal line with Mrazek out of position. Moments later, Svechnikov had a shot bang off Greiss’ mask
The Islanders had just 11 shots midway through the second. The 12th found the net. The Canes turned the puck over along the boards in their zone and Filppula got behind Hamilton, waited out Mrazek as he came out to challenge the Isles forward and finding the net.
This story was originally published October 4, 2018 at 9:54 PM.