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Carolina Hurricanes: Bruins Expose Brind’Amour’s One Fatal Flaw

By Joshua Ryan

RALEIGH, NC - MARCH 28: Rod Brind'Amour head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes watches action on the ice during an NHL game against the Washington Capitals on March 28, 2019 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC - MARCH 28: Rod Brind'Amour head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes watches action on the ice during an NHL game against the Washington Capitals on March 28, 2019 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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RALEIGH, NC – MARCH 28: Head coach Rod Brind’Amour of the Carolina Hurricanes draws up a play and communicates it during a timeout during an NHL game against the Washington Capitals on March 28, 2019 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC – MARCH 28: Head coach Rod Brind’Amour of the Carolina Hurricanes draws up a play and communicates it during a timeout during an NHL game against the Washington Capitals on March 28, 2019 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images) /

The Problem

The power play.

Most fans who began reading this article probably knew where we were headed. The power play has been exposed this postseason; but this is an issue that is, unfortunately, nothing new to the teams head coach

In the past four seasons running the power play as an assistant coach, and in his first as a head coach, Brind’Amour has had the Hurricanes inside the top 20 only once. His highest percentage output was 18.75% in 2014-2015, with this season producing a 20th ranked 17.81%.

The culmination of this struggle came against the Boston Bruins. The Canes never had a chance if they couldn’t capitalize on the man advantage. It didn’t matter if there was one man in the box, or even two, the puck would not find the net, the team could barely register a shot.

This does not mean that Brind’Amour deserves all of the blame for the four prior seasons. Those teams where less talented, they were not as well coached under the previous orchestrater, and they often where not in contention for prominent playoff spots. Brind’Amour has right the ship in his first season and established a winning culture in his first 97 games; this difficulty, however, has still followed him.

The answer to this problem is not structural, and may be simpler than many perceive.

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