The Carolina Hurricanes won Game 4 of the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals on Monday night. This marked Carolina's first win in the East Final since 2006. Head coach Rod Brind'Amour was a player the last time they won in the East Final. And now he's tasked with winning another three games to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

Momentum is somewhat on Carolina's side entering Game 5 on Wednesday night. However, momentum may not matter for Carolina at this point. The Hurricanes trail 3-1 in the series, leaving them one loss away from elimination from the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. For them to win this series, Brind'Amour believes his team has to control the game from the jump.

“Scoring first just really seems to be the key,” Brind'Amour said Tuesday, via NHL.com's Kurt Dusterberg. “Not that if you get behind, you can't come back. But the way both teams are checking for their chances, there are not a lot of great opportunities. Getting out of that first-period level, we're OK; we're not having to chase the game. That was the difference for me.”

Hurricanes working to cut out turnovers vs. Panthers

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One issue that has plagued the Hurricanes in this East Final is turnovers. Carolina has had issues with maintaining possession, especially in the first two games. The Hurricanes held the puck better in Game 4, though, and that led to a win. Correcting these issues is also at the top of the agenda for this team entering Game 5.

“When both teams are playing a pressure game, there's going to be turnovers; that's the whole point of it,” Brind'Amour said, via Dusterberg. “We had less of those, less of the ones that turned into something. There were some. There's going to be every game. It's just limiting those the best you can. I thought we did a better job of that.”

The Hurricanes have work to do in this series. But they have identified problem areas they need to focus on. All that's left is for this team to put their money where their mouth is on the ice.