Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour wore his heart on his sleeve during his playing career, and apparently, not much has changed in his first season as a bench boss.
Brind'Amour offered a candid response Tuesday following his team's 2-1 loss to the Boston Bruins, who now hold a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Final.
"This hurts," Brind'Amour said postgame, according to TSN's Frank Seravalli. "I told the guys, 'I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. We just got kicked in the you-know-where.'"
Despite the loss, the Hurricanes controlled 56 percent of the shot attempts and 54.8 percent of the high-danger scoring chances, according to Natural Stat Trick.
"I think we can feel good about the fact that we at least gave them a game," Brind'Amour told WBZ's Michael Hurley. "I mean, we hadn't given them a game yet. It was pretty easy for them, so at least we battled hard."
The Hurricanes' power play was perhaps their biggest problem Tuesday night. They went 0-for-5 with the man advantage, and the Bruins' best penalty killer was none other than goaltender Tuukka Rask.
"He's definitely the difference-maker," Brind'Amour said of Rask, according to Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer.
The goaltender stopped 35 of the 36 shots he faced, including all 14 he saw while the Bruins were shorthanded.
If the Hurricanes are to avoid a sweep and force a Game 5, they'll have to find an answer for Rask, who has a .939 save percentage in the postseason.
