Consistent to a fault.
That’s how Sean Gentille of The Athletic summed up the Carolina Hurricanes’ disappointing Eastern Conference Finals debut against the Florida Panthers.
“Call it whatever you feel the need to call it. Pick a word that lands somewhere between “reliability” and “predictability.” Pick one, or pick the other. The point remains the same: we tend to know what we’re getting from Rod Brind’Amour’s Carolina Hurricanes,” Gentille wrote.
“There will be forechecking pressure, relentless, from the front, back and side. There will be defensemen, pushed up further than anyone else’s, daring opponents to flip the puck over their heads, calling bluffs. There will be shot attempts. Oh, baby, will there ever be shot attempts.”
This has been the issue with Carolina of late. The team is incredible at what they do best but struggles when the margins are at their tightest — the team’s trust in a system unable to push them past the finish line.
“And, for now, there will be competitive losses — or something close — to the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference finals,” Gentille wrote.
Time will tell if Carolina can change this narrative, but for now, it isn’t looking good in Raleigh.
“Dogmatic belief to their system is part of what makes them great. It gives them structure. It gives them purpose. It takes the panic button off the table and puts it on a shelf. And sometimes — usually around this time of year — it just might put that button a little too far out of reach.”
