It’s happened. The title of the Eastern Conference has been claimed, by none other than the Florida Panthers. It isn’t much of a shock that Florida cinched this one considering that the Carolina Hurricanes made their first Eastern Conference final win in 19 years with the game 4 victory, and no one was expecting them to then suddenly bag the whole series, especially with Florida back in full form and Reinhart, Greer and Mikkola all back on the ice. However, there was a moment, though fleeting, where it seemed, at least to coach Rod Brind’Amour, like the Canes could have had it all, or at least had game 5.

Considering the Canes scored the first two goals of the game, it’s no surprise Rod Brind’Amour had his hopes up. However, this got the better of him early on in the game, when at around the 8.31 mark in the first period, Canes’ Alexander Nikishin was called out for removing Panthers’ Nate Schmidt’s helmets.

Brind’Amour clearly didn’t agree with the call as he said in a brief interview with Jackie Redmond, who asked him soon after the call, “What’s the message from the group on how to handle it from here?” To which Brind’Amour, who was in the heat of the moment answered, “Great question. These aren’t real penalties and that’s how the series has gone, so, we have to stop the hitting and just go play. I don’t know, I’m a little frustrated as you can tell.” However, haters make do with even small bait, and Brind’Amour was instantly called out for being rude to Jackie Redmond in the short exchange. It got so bad that even Jackie had to make a statement about it on her own X account.

Redmond had to go so far as to say, “he’s (Brind’Amour’s) one of nicest coaches I’ve worked with. We have great relationship.” she even added in what disrespect would really look like for fans who still might not get it, “And disrespect would be giving me one word or not even doing the interview.”

Speaking of respect, Brind’Amour, despite his own loss, has, from what we can see, only shown grace in the events that followed it.

How Rod Brind’Amour has handled the Carolina Hurricane loss in the Eastern Cup Final

Despite Brind’Amour’s words in the heat of the moment regarding the penalties, the coach seems to have handled the fallout gracefully. Paul Maurice spoke recently about how he wished that the ‘handshake’ moment be saved for the players alone, he apparently shared this wish with Brind’Amour who agreed with him. So after the game, while the coaching staff and other members of the off ice team shook hands on the sidelines, the players could be seen shaking hands on the ice, and enjoying the moment.

In a post game interview Rod Brind’Amour’ also spoke about how much he admired Florida’s play saying, “All of their goals were just really nice plays, good finish. They’re a great team and it’s obvious. The last couple of years I think they’re the standard, obviously.”

So it doesn’t seem like there is any anger here, rather a moment of tension where there was a brief misunderstanding. The Hurricanes pulled off a feat this year, that’s for sure, winning their first game in this round of the playoff series in 19 years, and also giving Florida a bit of a hard time in game 5, with the score tied at 3-3 at one point and the Canes opening the scoring with two goals. In any case, there’s always next year!