The Carolina Hurricanes finished the NHL's regular season with 113 points, second best in the entire league. On Wednesday, the Hurricanes' season came to a screeching halt with a 4-3 last-second defeat at the hands of the Florida Panthers.
Head Coach Rod Brind'Amour's team competed to the bitter end, but continued a streak that won't soon be forgotten.
The Carolina Hurricanes have lost 1️⃣2️⃣ straight Conference finals games since winning the Stanley Cup in 2006 😳 pic.twitter.com/m1XF93CLsA
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 25, 2023
After the game, Brind-Amour, the intense and determined coach of the Hurricanes, revealed his true feelings in one sentence.
Rod Brind'Amour: "Did we deserve better? I think so."
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) May 25, 2023
The Hurricanes lost a heartbreaking series of four one-goal games, hanging in on defense while being badly out-shot. They played five overtime periods but did not score in any of them.
This has gotta be the most painful sweep in the history of the NHL playoffs.
Panthers won four one-goal games, two in OT, another with the winner in the final five seconds, and — if my math is right —- were outshot 174-126 in the series.
Just brutal for the Hurricanes.— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoAP) May 25, 2023
One fan named Jennifer Kaufman sided with the Hurricanes coach after the tough loss.
“I usually roll my eyes at the deserve-o-meter angle…but I totally felt that this series.”
The Hurricanes lost in the waning seconds of Game 4 on a goal by Matthew Tkachuk. It was a fitting end to a series where every break seemed to go the Panthers' way.
MATTHEW TKACHUK SENDS THE PANTHERS TO THE STANLEY CUP FINAL 🚨 pic.twitter.com/Nc9MvwXRgF
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 25, 2023
Jordan Martinook and Brady Skjei led the way with two points each for the Hurricanes. Goals were scored by Jesper Fast, Paul Stastny, and Teuvo Teräväinen.
Brind'Amour commented on the series previously, referencing how “weird” it had been after three games.
“We’ve got to find a way to put one in. Defensively, we’ve given up nothing, really,” Brind’Amour told the media after Game 3.
Brind'Amour was in disbelief after the game, and denied that the Hurricanes were actually swept.
“That's not what happened, I watched the game,” he said. “We didn't lose four games.”
“We were right there,” the Hurricanes coach added.