Inside Rod Brind’Amour’s pivotal decision that led to a Hurricanes win in Game 2
Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour had a decision to make, and time was running short.
The Canes trailed the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 on Monday, midway though the third period of Game 2 of their Stanley Cup playoff series. The line of Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis was stuck in neutral. So why not change things up?
Brind’Amour moved Jarvis to Jordan Staal’s line, shifting Jordan Martinook to Jarvis’ spot on the Aho line. Jarvis, in turn, soon took a drop pass from Nikolaj Ehlers and ripped a shot for his first goal of the playoffs, tying the score.
The Canes went on to a 3-2 overtime win on Taylor Hall’s goal at a rollicking Lenovo Center, grabbing a 2-0 lead in the second-round Eastern Conference series that now moves to Philadelphia for the next two games.
Moving Jarvis wasn’t a gut, on-the-spot decision by Brind’Amour. It was something he had discussed in pregame planning with longtime assistant coach Jeff Daniels, who works with the Canes forwards.
‘We’ve got to do it now’
It also was part of the continual chess match between head coaches in the course of a playoff series and in the heat of the games, anticipating moves in advance, having a good gauge on their players and what could happen if things are stagnant.
“I run things by (Daniels) almost basically every shift, like, ‘What do you think?’” Brind’Amour said. “We’re always talking about, ‘If this isn’t working, what’s your go-to?’
“The guys get it. If we’re struggling or things aren’t going right, you almost look for it.”
During Game 2, Daniels said, “We’ve got to do it now.” Meaning, shuffle the lines. Now.
Jarvis moved.
“Most of the time nothing happens, but (Monday) night that was the spark that we needed,” Brind’Amour said.
Jarvis, too.
“With Jarvy, we know how much he cares,” Brind’Amour said. “He wants to be the difference every game, every shift. We know how valuable he is to us. Hopefully that springboards him and gets him feeling good about his game.”
Seth Jarvis’ extra inspiration
Brind’Amour said Daniels, who won the Cup as a player with the Pittsburgh Penguins and helped coach the Canes to the 2006 championship, has a calming presence with the forwards, a diverse group. He has conversations daily with them and “knows the mindset they’re in.”
Jarvis had to be in a good mindset Tuesday, one would think. His childhood buddies from Winnipeg rolled into Raleigh and were at Lenovo Center to sound the warning siren before the game. Crank it they did — hard.
“When they sound the siren and we’re down 2-0 right away, I was a little nervous, and I was about to un-invite them forever,” Jarvis quipped.
And after the win, after scoring his first goal?
“I saw them after the game and one had his shirt off and another was piggybacking on somebody,” Jarvis said. “I might have to keep them around more often.”
Series shifts to Philly
Things will be just the opposite in Philadelphia this week. No time for fun or frivolity. The Flyers fans should be in a foul mood when it comes to the Hurricanes. They might chirp or chide Brind’Amour, an extremely popular player with the Flyers for parts of nine seasons before being traded to Carolina in January 2000.
Brind’Amour, a member of the Flyers Hall of Fame, said he has never been booed in Philly — “I never gave them reason to,” he said. But he never tried to knock them out of the Stanley Cup playoffs and end their season, either.
Flyers coach Rick Tocchet changed up his lines for Game 2 after being shut out 3-0 in Game 1 by Frederik Andersen. The Flyers have played the first two games without injured forward Owen Tippett, but he could return during the series and add another dimension to the offense with his speed.
Brind’Amour was noncommital Tuesday about his lines for Game 3. Aho and Andrei Svechnikov had a minimal impact in Game 2 — Svechnikov was called for three penalties, twice for high-sticking and then a hooking call in overtime.
Tocchet will have the last change at home, meaning he can adjust his lines and defensive pairs to best match up with the Canes. That’s another part of the coaching chess match and strategy, although coaches typically try to downplay its significance.
Hurricanes news and notes
• Brind’Amour said Tuesday that defenseman Alexander Nikishin had been cleared medically to play. Nikishin suffered a concussion in Game 4 of the Canes’ sweep of the Ottawa Senators in the first round, and veteran Mike Reilly replaced him in the first two games with the Flyers.
• The Canes have six straight wins to open the playoffs — impressive, but three shy of the record set by the Edmonton Oilers in 1985. But they now go into Xfinity Mobile Arena to play the Flyers, as Brind’Amour put it, with “their fans all jacked up, as they should be.”
• Brind’Amour is counting on his team’s collective playoff experience to again be a factor on the road. The Canes took a 2-1 victory over the Senators in Game 3 of the opening round as Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake scored while Andersen did his thing in net with 21 saves.
“I thought we had a great Game 3,” Brind’Amour said. “So, hoping the same. But we understand what the environment is going to be like.”
