Hurricanes Hit Conference Final Wall Again

Rod Brind'Amour has accomplished quite a lot during his seven years as head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes. Not only has he made the playoffs and won at least one series each year, but he's also made the Eastern Conference Final three times and won the Jack Adams Award.

One thing he's yet to do, however, is lead his team to the Stanley Cup Final, and if this postseason is anything to go by, he may have a long way to go.

The Hurricanes' season came to an end following a 5-3 loss to the Florida Panthers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final on Wednesday. Carolina ended its 15-game losing streak in the conference final with a 3-0 win in Game 4 on Monday, but it only delayed the inevitable.

Simply put, the Panthers beat the Hurricanes at their own game. Carolina's greatest strength is its aggressive forecheck, but Florida's forecheck is without comparison right now, and it downright suffocated Carolina this entire series.

The proof is in the pudding, as the Panthers outscored the Hurricanes 16-7 at even strength. Carolina also didn't have a lead at any point in the series until the aforementioned Game 4, and again, it was too late by that point.

Scoring wasn't the only thing the Hurricanes struggled with in this series, as they also couldn't keep the puck out of their own net. Frederik Andersen finished the series with a .838 save percentage, a steep decline from the .937 save percentage he had in the first two rounds. Pyotr Kochetkov started in place of Andersen in Game 3 when the Hurricanes needed a shakeup, didn't fare any better, allowing six goals and finishing the series with a .788 save percentage.

Additionally, Carolina's injuries on defense proved too much to overcome. Jalen Chatfield missed the entire series, while Sean Walker left early in Game 2 and didn't return.

The Hurricanes have over $28 million in cap space to work with this offseason, and them trading Mikko Rantanen away at the deadline gave them a ton of draft capital to work with in the near future. They can make some big moves to improve their roster this offseason, but whether or not they will is another question entirely.