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Brind'Amour publicly buried his own star defenseman after the humiliating loss

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Jonathan Ouimet
May 22, 2026  (0:54)
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Rod Brind'Amour
Photo credit: Screenshot

Jaccob Slavin didn't dodge a thing after Carolina dropped Game 1 to the Montreal Canadiens 6-2 on Thursday night. He stood at his stall and took the bullet himself.

"Personally, I think I handed them the game. I've got to be better."
That's the quote. From the steadiest defenceman in the Hurricanes locker room.

Rod Brind'Amour, asked about his veteran's performance, said he's never seen a night like that in eight years behind Carolina's bench. Eight years. That's the headline.

Slavin's 6.46 million dollar cap hit isn't the issue. The issue is that Carolina's defensive identity runs through him, and Game 1 broke that template wide open.

His postseason line now sits at 0 goals and 1 assist through 8 playoff games, with an even rating. Quiet offence is fine. Self-described giveaways in a Game 1 are not.

Montreal swept the regular-season series 3-0, outscoring Carolina across three meetings. The Canadiens won 7-5, 5-2, and 3-1 in head-to-head play.

Brind'Amour leans on a quiet vote of confidence ahead of Game 2

"He'll bounce back," Brind'Amour added. Short answer. No hedging. The kind of one-liner coaches use when they want the room to stop talking about a problem.

The visual in Walt Ruff's clip says enough. Slavin standing still, jaw set, no excuses on his face.

Carolina finished the regular season 53-22-7 with 113 points and a 56-goal differential. Top of the Metropolitan. Built to win this round.

But Game 1 didn't read like a top seed. The Hurricanes coughed up six in their own building against a team that finished 7-points behind them.

Martin St-Louis now flips the road-ice script. Montreal walked into Lenovo Center and stole one. Game 2 sits on Saturday night, same building, same matchup, same questions for Slavin.

If a defender of his calibre is publicly diagnosing himself as the problem, the locker room hears it. The opponent hears it too. And Game 2 becomes a referendum on whether Brind'Amour was right to trust the bounce-back.

The series is one game old. Carolina has zero room to lose another at home.