Put the Pitchfork Down, Rod Brind'Amour
Game 2…wasn’t fun. Neither was Game 1 - the Boston Bruins are getting dismantled by the young and speedy Carolina Hurricanes in all facets of the game - offense, defense, goaltending, and physicality. It’s been ugly on the ice, but after Game 2, it appears to be getting ugly off the ice, as well.
There were a lot of storylines to come out of Game 2 - but two in particular have lead to banter between fans and after post game press conferences, coaches, too?
But wait, there’s more.
After 20 years playing in the NHL and being behind the bench since 2011 it’s truly baffling that of all people, Rod Brind'Amour (bolded, italicized, and underlined for emphasis) thinks the Bruins are taking runs at their goaltenders - and not just the team in general, because there’s absolutely no proof of an organized effort by Boston to take-out Carolina’s goalies - but, David freakin’ Pastrnak?
It’s actually embarrassing, really, for Brind’Amour to make such an outlandish claim. We’re talking about a 25-year-old superstar who nets 40 goals a season while maintaining 20 penalty minutes through 72 games. We’re talking about a superstar who’s only ever had 30 penalty minutes in playoff games through 6 separate playoff runs. It’s a bit surprising that Brind’Amour, who holds highly his 1,100 penalty minutes through 1,484 games in his career can’t differentiate between a superstar who tries to stay out of the box, and one much more like himself.
The only truth behind Brind’Amour’s claims is the Bruins will be much better equipped to win if they play disciplined and stay out of the box - that being said, the Bruins are not intentionally looking to take runs at Carolina’s goaltenders - and while letting that fact settle in, Rod, coach your team to keep the hits below the neckline.