Hurricanes HC Rod Brind’Amour doesn't mince words about penalty call on Sebastian Aho

Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour couldn't help his team as they lost 5-2 to the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final on Tuesday. The head coach was not happy about a first-period penalty on Sebastian Aho. The penalty came while Carolina was on a power play. Aho was called for roughing Anton Lundell at 6:59.

Florida scored on the power play less than two minutes later when Carter Verhaeghe gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 8:30. After the game, Brind’Amour spoke about the call.

"That's going to happen," Brind’Amour said. "It's the wrong call. At least should have been 50/50. Can't take a cross check to the face and not call that and then call that, and that leads to a first goal. That's going to happen. They're going to miss stuff." [3:01]

Rod Brind’Amour said missed calls are part of the game. But he felt this one put his team in a bad spot early.

“It’s unfortunate because that ends up putting us behind the eight ball,” Brind’Amour added.

Despite the loss, Rod Brind’Amour didn’t think his team played poorly.

"I didn't hate our game tonight. It's going to be hard. It's going to go back and forth." Brind’Amour said.

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Rod Brind’Amour gave credit to the Panthers for their power play goals

The Florida Panthers scored twice on the power play out of their three chances, whereas Carolina scored one goal on four chances. Rod Brind’Amour believes it made the difference, and he gave credit to Florida for capitalizing on their chances.

“They got the two power-play goals, I think that’s really the difference in the game,” Brind’Amour said. “You’ve got to give them credit. They get a chance, it’s in the net. I didn’t hate our game tonight. It’s going to be hard, it’s going to go back and forth.”

Aaron Ekblad scored for Florida at 12:29 to make it 2-0. Aho got one back at 19:44, redirecting a pass from Seth Jarvis. But the Panthers took over again in the second period. A.J. Greer scored to make it 3-1, and Sam Bennett and Eetu Luostarinen added two more goals in the third.

Carolina’s Jackson Blake scored late on the power play to make it 5-2. Sergei Bobrovsky made 31 saves for Florida, and Frederik Andersen stopped 15 shots for the Hurricanes.

Game 2 of the series will be played on Thursday at the Lenovo Center.

About the author

Abhilasha is an NHL writer at Sportskeeda. Holding a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, her interest in writing hockey was piqued after watching an NHL skills video on YouTube. The 2023 Stanley Cup Finale series between the Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers was among the most iconic games she has seen and it left an impact on her.

Her reporting strengths include covering news stories and following stars like McDavid, Matthews and Alex Ovechkin, among others.

Abhilasha is a huge fan of the Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche because of their skilled forwards, while her favorite players include Wayne Gretzky, Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby and Connor Bedard. For her, John Tortorella is the greatest coach ever.

Abhilasha has over 3 years of experience writing content for different products and websites, along with handling social media content for various brands. She values using credible sources when writing and likes to identify fake and false narratives.

Abhilasha’s hobbies include spiritual reading, staying updated on the latest makeup trends, fitness and exploring new destinations through travel.

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Edited by Dipayan Moitra