Hurricanes-Golden Knights updates: Butterflies fluttering ahead of SCF Game 1
Rod Brind’Amour of the Carolina Hurricanes played for a Stanley Cup, and now is coaching for one with the Canes.
Are the butterflies the same going into Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final?
“Surprisingly, yes,” Brind’Amour said Tuesday after the Canes’ morning skate at Lenovo Center. “I have no impact on this game at all other than I prepare the team, and I’m sitting there and have a better seat than you (media) do. But I do have the butterflies. Which is good.
“You want that. If you don’t have them, what would you be in this game for? It’s an exciting time.”
Brind’Amour was 35 and the captain of the Hurricanes when they claimed the Stanley Cup in 2006. He had long sought the Cup as a player and was just as happy for teammates such as Glen Wesley, Bret Hedican and others winning the Cup for the first time in their long careers.
Now, he wants it for another group of Canes players who have had the same hockey dream and have their chance against the Vegas Golden Knights in the Final.
“There’s a long way to go, but you do want it for these guys,” Brind’Amour said. “When you win a Stanley Cup, you’re brothers for life, and it takes on a whole new meaning, That’s what we’re here for, and I’d love to get it for these guys.”
Strength vs strength in special teams
One of the critical areas of this Stanley Cup Final could be the Canes’ penalty-killing against the Vegas power play, strength versus strength in special teams.
Carolina’s penalty kill checks in at 92.5% for the playoffs. The Golden Knights have converted 23.9% (11-of-46) of their power plays.
The Canes, especially with Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis on the PK, will look for shorthanded chances, and are good at it. But can Carolina be aggressive against the Golden Knights?
“You’ve got to kill the penalty first,” Brind’Amour said Tuesday. “That’s been our philosophy the whole time.
“We give our guys the green light, obviously. If you have your chance you’re going to look for it, but you’re not going out there thinking about scoring against those guys. You’ve got to kill the penalty first.”
Torts: Golden Knights ready
Vegas coach John Tortorella has stubbornly refused to say anything about the Hurricanes to the media the past few days. The curmudgeonly one said he would talk only about his team and his players leading up to Game 1.
A question came up Tuesday morning about the Golden Knights and Hurricanes playing similar styles and the impact that might have on the series. Tortorella quickly shot that down, saying his team had its own style, and it was the only one he was concerned about.
“We have a really good two days of preparation and we’re ready to play,” he said. “I can tell by our group. We’re right on that fine line of having confidence but being businesslike. We’re ready.”
Stankoven line is Vegas focus
The Canes’ line centered by Logan Stankoven, with wingers Taylor Hall and Jackson Blake, will be a focus of the Golden Knights, even if Tortorella won’t comment on the line’s play.
That line has combined for 43 points in 13 playoff games: Stankoven (9 goals, 3 assists) Hall (5 goals, 11 assists) and Blake (5 goals, 10 assists).
