Hurricanes-Canadiens ECF Game 2: Why the Canes must be better on defense
The Carolina Hurricanes went through a workmanlike morning skate Saturday at Lenovo Center, with minimum chatter, in preparing for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final.
Many wore their game faces, during the skate and afterward in the locker-room media scrums in talking about reversing the 6-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1.
“We need to play our game for 60 minutes,” defenseman Jaccob Slavin said. “They’re a fast team. They play with a lot of speed and a lot of skill and they did a good job breaking out pucks. We’ve got to do a better job of forechecking and a better job of staying above them.”
The Canes’ defensive corps was caught out of position numerous times in Game 1 as the Canadiens scored on breakaways and open shots against porous coverage. That included Slavin, who might have experienced the poorest playoff game of his career.
“We have to take what happened last game and learn from it,” Slavin said. “What’s done is done. We can’t change it. We’ve got a confident group in here, and we need to concentrate on what we do best. We’ve got to be a lot better.”
The Canes rolled through the first eight games of the Stanley Cup playoffs, sweeping Ottawa and the Philadelphia Flyers. There were some tight games and overtime games, but they found a way to win eight times as goalie Frederik Andersen allowed just 10 goals.
Andersen was left to fend for himself a few too many times in Game 1.
“Tonight the focus needs to be on defense first,” winger Seth Jarvis said. “That’s how we create our offense. The first two (playoff rounds) we were really good defensively, but last game we had a lapse. But mainly we want to come out and play the way we can.”
Canadiens remain ‘hungry’
After an emotional seven-game playoff series against the Buffalo Sabres, the Canadiens quickly made adjustments for Carolina, traveled, won Game 1 and are in position to take a 2-0 series lead back to Montreal.
It would be easy to assume the Habs’ goal entering the ECF was to at least split the first two games in Raleigh. But Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said Saturday his team doesn’t think that way,
“You’ve got to stay hungry,” he said. “I think we have a hungry group. I don’t think we are where we are today without that kind of mindset.
“With that said, you can have that mindset and still have to go execute. The other team’s coming, too. They’re not going to just give it to you. If you want to get it, go earn it.”
Brind’Amour’s mind on improved D
Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour was asked, again, if more offense was needed from the top line centered by Sebastian Aho, especially against a potent team like Montreal. His answer was predictable and to the point.
“Well, if we defend like we did, then yes,” he said.
“If we’re going to go and give away four or five breakaways, we’ve got to score five or six goals,” Brind’Amour added. “But if we can eliminate those, then no, we don’t have to. It depends on how the game is going and how we’re playing.”
The Canes, from all accounts, had an intense video session Friday with the head coach.
Said Jarvis: “You take the words he’s saying and keep that in your brain and know it’s coming from a good place. He wants the best for us. No matter how he delivers the message, he’s looking out for the best interest of the team.”
St. Louis: Canes mirror Brind’Amour
Brind’Amour and St. Louis faced off against each other on the ice in the NHL long before going behind the bench as coaches, and St-Louis sees a lot of Brind’Amour in the Canes’ style of play.
“Hard-nosed,” he said. “Rod was a Selke (Trophy) winner, so you knew you were going to have a hard game playing against him,” St. Louis said Saturday. “But he also had some offense to his game. He was a complete player.
“Carolina is kind of playing that style. They play offense, they play defense, they compete. It’s a lot like Rod was.”
Canes trying to dodge some history
Much has been made of the Canes having 11 days between their second-round series with the Flyers and the start of the conference final, the longest in the playoffs since 1919.
Here’s something else to consider: The Canes are the fourth team to have 10 or more days off during the playoffs. The previous three went on to lose their next series.
(Check back for updates before and during Game 2)
This story was originally published May 23, 2026 at 3:27 PM with the headline "Hurricanes-Canadiens ECF Game 2: Why the Canes must be better on defense."
