An already intense series is only going to become more intense.
"Now that the series is kind of a series, I certainly expect it to be that way," Brind'Amour said.
An already physical series is only going to become more physical.
"The first round is the toughest round … and the most physical because everybody is amped up," Brind'Amour said. "You can't keep that pace up for the whole playoff grind. Do I think [the physicality] will continue? Yes, I do. Through this round, for sure. Hopefully we can find a way to keep it up."
An already heated series is only going to become more heated.
"We've got a little rivalry going here, and that's good," Brind'Amour said.
And the Hurricanes, through it all, are staying true to themselves, true to the team that experienced a renaissance in the new year to become one of the league's best teams.
It's a young, hungry, scrappy bunch that makes up in an unmatched work ethic what it might lack in skill, that makes up in a concentrated approach what it might lack in playoff experience, that makes up in togetherness what it might lack in battle testing.
"It's just fun. They get the work part of it and how hard we have to work, but then they also get that they have to enjoy it. They're having fun with it. I'm enjoying being around this group," Brind'Amour said. "They just do it right. I want them to have fun. They should."