'We're Going To Have To Bounce Back': Rod Brind'Amour Jordan Staal, Jaccob Slavin, Seth Jarvis On Slow Start, Game 1 Loss

May 22, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

The Carolina Hurricanes dropped their first game of the postseason, falling 6-2 to the Montreal Canadiens Thursday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final.

Despite scoring the opening goal 33 seconds into the game, Carolina proceeded to give up four goals in the first period en route to the loss.

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After the game, Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour along with Jordan Staal, Jaccob Slavin and Seth Jarvis spoke with the media. Here's what they had to say:

Asleep At The Wheel: Rusty Hurricanes Drop Their First Game Of Postseason In Sloppy Loss An eleven-day layoff proved costly for Carolina as defensive collapses and costly turnovers gifted Montreal a dominant Game 1 victory, reviving fears of a conference final curse.Rod Brind'Amour

On the opening 10 minutes: It was obviously not our best. They made some nice plays, give them credit, they finished. But I didn't think we were very sharp, to put it bluntly. Our top guys had tough nights and that's not going to work this time of the year. Chalk it up. I think we just toss this game, to be honest. I hate that this time of year that that's what we’ve got to do, but there wasn't much to really grab on to there. I think you get behind early like that, it’s tough, but we clearly were not ready for that pace. I’m not going to give the layoff as an excuse, but we weren't ready to play playoff hockey, and that caught us.

On if he can put a finger on why the team wasn't ready: We weren't ready. We weren't mentally ready to play at the level we had been playing. Just everything was a little off, and they're very, very talented team. Obviously, some of them were just blown coverages that I don't know what we were thinking. But yeah, that’s a tough game because we're out of it 10 minutes in, or down three, or whatever. That's a tough hill to climb against a good team.

On if he considered pulling Frederik Andersen: No. We were giving up breakaways. I'm not going to blame him for breakaways. I thought, maybe for a second, just to give him a breather, but he's had a ton of rest, so it's actually the opposite. We need to get him probably up to speed, a little more game action.

On the top line looking more offensively dangerous: They created some good opportunities. [Montreal] blocked a lot of shots. Like I said, you’ve got to give their team a lot credit. They did what they had to do. So obviously that's a big part of it, but I didn't think we made it very difficult for them. So that's something that has to change.

On Jaccob Slaving having a tough night: Yeah, he had a tough one. I’ve never seen that. Eight years. So, it happens. Again, they have that ability that if you give them a little room, then it's over. And that's what happened tonight. He'll bounce back.

On if playoff experience can help them bounce back: I think we've been through this before. It's a tough night. It's tough at this time of year to have those. We don't have a lot of those at all like that, and we're going to have to bounce back, clearly, and I have all the faith in the world that we will.

Jordan Staal

On the start: We lost the game from the start. Obviously giving them that many freebies, any team is going to make you pay, especially at this time of year. There wasn't enough respect for them. They played a great game. They were ready to roll and we weren't.

On if the team wasn't prepared for the pace the Canadiens played at: Yeah, but I mean, we just weren't aware of them. Obviously them sneaking in behind us is a different style, and pace obviously, but it wasn't necessarily the pace, more so the awareness. I don't know how many breakaways we gave up right off the bat. We have to find ways to defend better and give them nothing. Make it hard on them. Those were just freebies and they have some talent and they're going to make you pay.

On the rest of the game: I thought the rest of the game settled down a bit. Started playing a little better, but they were sitting on a pretty lead, so it's going to look a little different. It looked like we were attempting to build a game in the second and then in the third, it was just kind of 'Meh.' It was really the start that cost us.

On the message during the first intermission: It was clearly not good enough. Everyone to man, including myself, knows that. We had to build a game and get something good out of it and find a way to get back into it. We were obviously slowly building a game there, but not good enough tonight. We knew this series wasn't going to be easy and we're going to have to regroup, figure out our mistakes and obviously come out with a much better effort.

Jaccob Slavin

On flushing this game and moving on: Yeah, it's one of those games where that's our only choice. It's gonna be a long series and we’ve got to be better.

On how the game unraveled despite an ideal start: We had a couple breakdowns and gave them a couple goals. They came out and they were flying, but we just can't give them free goals.

On that game not looking like the Hurricanes normally play: No, typically it doesn’t.

On if the break impacted their play: No, I don't think it's because of the break. We came out and we were flying, but personally I think I handed them the game and so I’ve got to be better.

Seth Jarvis

On the poor start being more of an awareness issue: You nailed it. Anytime you give up five breakaways in a game, there's something going on. It's just about tightening up. You can't give a team like that, any team really, but a team with that much offensive talent that many chances and expect not to get burned. When you start out like that, it's gonna be tough to climb back.

On Montreal's quick response to his opening goal: Every team in the NHL is going to respond. That's just not good enough by us, by our line, to get one and then just give it up right away. It's a quick flip in momentum and something we want to really never do.

On the need to perhaps have scored one more in the second period: A goal anytime would have been a momentum shift. We built a game, Robbie had a great goal and kind of got us going. I mean, they have a great goalie, great team. It's always tough to find some, but I mean, any goal at any time would have been big.

On what Montreal did to make covering them so difficult: They have a lot of speed. They're a team that skates really well and looks for plays. Again, it boils down to our awareness. Just not being quite sharp enough and letting their talent kind of run wild a little bit.

On building a game: I thought we built some momentum and a little bit of a game, but again, when you give up that many breakaways, that many opportunities, that many goals, it's tough to come back.

On if he felt this game was a byproduct of too much rest: No. I don't think that had anything to do with it. I think it was just a lack of awareness and just us not being ready to go right from puck drop.

&#39;We&#39;re Going To Have To Bounce Back&#39;: Rod Brind&#39;Amour Jordan Staal, Jaccob Slavin, Seth Jarvis On Slow Start, Game 1 Loss

'We're Going To Have To Bounce Back': Rod Brind'Amour Jordan Staal, Jaccob Slavin, Seth Jarvis On Slow Start, Game 1 Loss