Hurricanes have blueprint for success in Stanley Cup Playoffs

The Coaches Room is a regular feature throughout the 2025-26 season by former NHL coaches and assistants who turn their critical gaze to the game and explain it through the lens of a teacher.

In this edition, Craig Johnson, a former assistant with the Anaheim Ducks and Ontario of the American Hockey League, and development coach with the Los Angeles Kings, writes about the Eastern Conference Second Round between the Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers.

The Carolina Hurricanes have had so much success, advancing at least one round in the Stanley Cup Playoffs every year under Rod Brind'Amour since 2019. It's because they have a blueprint for how they want to play and they do not deviate from it.

The Hurricanes are very aggressive. You know when you play them that you're going to have to work for every bit of space. It becomes a space game, and you can't be lazy or cheat the game against the Hurricanes. They do such a good job with that, and it goes back to their blueprint.

They play in your face. They take away your time and space. They have some of the best sticks in the League. They defend with their feet. They've got depth. They're going to come at you in waves.

When they're on, you can still win the game, but you have to do the things that they do better than them.

So, watching Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Second Round on Monday, I noticed a few things that could help the Philadelphia Flyers come back in the best-of-7 series despite being down 2-0 heading into Game 3 at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC).

The Flyers skated better in Game 2 than they did in Game 1, when they lost 3-0. They played with more desperation, were quicker off the walls and brought pucks to the net at a better rate than in Game 1.

Look at the goal Sean Couturier scored to make it 2-0 Philadelphia in the first period.

Carl Grundstrom wins a battle, skates behind the net, three Hurricanes players go to him behind the net, and he centers it out front to Couturier for a goal.

The Ottawa Senators tried to do that quite a bit in the first round against Carolina. They couldn't get enough puck luck to make it matter enough, but they were putting pucks in those areas and winning offensive positioning.

If the Flyers can get on the right side or simply just be quicker to the net, they're going to create chances like the one Couturier scored on because the Hurricanes play layered down low, looking to double. When the puck goes low to high, they turn into man to man.

To that point, there was a chance in Game 2 for Travis Sanheim coming down against a man-to-man as the puck went low to high. He activated, was a little bit quicker than the defender, got a step on him and that created a chance.

That is what the Flyers have to do.

The Hurricanes are a very quick team and they play very direct. They're going to attack you. They're always going to have a good F3. You know the 'D' is going to be pinching. So, if the Flyers can make plays, outskate them and win positioning in the offensive zone, try to make them chase from behind a little bit they're going to get chances.

That happened in Game 2. They just couldn't win the game.

The big question for the Hurricanes, especially now that they're 6-0 in the playoffs so far, is are they better this year than the previous teams that have advanced, three that went as far the Eastern Conference Final before stalling out?

I do think they're better. I think they're more skilled now than they have been.

The Hurricanes have the ability to make more plays. You see more of the puck possession entry into the offensive zone. You look at Nikolaj Ehlers. He makes a difference there and he's new. Jackson Blake has been really good and now has more experience. Same with Seth Jarvis.

They're possession guys. They can keep the puck. Those guys have been outstanding.

Frederik Andersen is delivering in net. His regular season wasn't great, but he's played a lot of big games in his career. He moves well. He's athletic. He's playing well and answering that big question about the Hurricanes' goaltending.

I also think the Hurricanes' power play in both series has been very good. They are getting looks and gaining momentum from the man-advantage.

That said, Andrei Svechnikov has to get going.

I don't know if he's banged up, but it's important that they get him going. I see a little bit more perimeter than I have in the past with him. I always thought of him as a guy who would take pucks to the net, be more aggressive. That's what he needs to do, but I don't know if he's dealing with an injury because he doesn't seem to be moving quite as well as he has in the past.

But it all goes back to their blueprint. Everything for them goes low to high. Everything is a shot to the net. They're a volume team. There's a little bit of puck luck to their game. They create a lot of chances, but they need some of those tips to go in and they need those loose puck recoveries to sustain possession to create the second chance.

They're going to keep doing the same thing. The Flyers have to make sure they bottle up the way they played in Game 2 and bring it for the rest of the series.

Their box outs and fronting pucks have to be good, and they need to be early. To end plays is crucial. To win the loose pucks battles is crucial. To skate well is paramount. To attack the little space they're given is huge.

They put together a blueprint for defeating the Hurricanes' blueprint in Game 2. They were able to get chances by outworking them at times, by outskating them.

More of the same is needed, but there's no guarantees they'll be able to do it.

The Hurricanes' blueprint is tried and true. They believe in it. They do not deviate from it. And this season they've added more skill to it.