Oct 19, 2026 3:50 AM
Defensive lapses and mounting injuries derailed Carolina’s momentum in Calgary, forcing a frustrated locker room to address the uncharacteristic sloppiness that halted their dominant seven-game surge.
The Carolina Hurricanes saw their seven game winning streak snapped Sunday night as the team fell 3-2 to the Calgary Flames.
Carolina got goals from Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jalen Chatfield, but the team was just too loose defensively overall.
After the game, Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour along with alternate captain Jordan Martinook spoke to the media in Calgary. Here what they had to say:
Rod Brind'Amour
On the game: It was sloppy. Definitely created enough chances to win and score a ton of goals, but we gave up... we were just not committing to the other end which is usually what we do. Now you just run the risk of what happened. We don't want to be giving up chances like that. That's not how we play. But give them credit. They stuck to what they did and they got the win.
On the injuries piling up: We're in one. We've got guys playing out of position, lost three or four penalty killers, that looked terrible tonight, but you have to figure it out. No one feels sorry for you. We have to just regroup. Like I said, we created a ton of offense. We hit three or four goal posts. That game could have looked different, but I would have still felt the same because we were giving up way too much.
On the fourth line: That line was good. [Kotkaniemi] just tapped them in, but the other guys were creating loose pucks. That line was actually pretty effective for us. Playing in the right end of the rink, which is what we needed a little more of.
On Mark Jankowski's status: I don't even know what happened, but we sent him home to get looked at. I don't have any other update than that.
Jordan Martinook
On the game: We just gave up way too much. Felt like, especially the third, they started putting on us a lot. They were just playing simple like how we usually play. Just getting pucks behind us and forechecking and taking away the walls. I felt like the third, they turned the tides on us, for sure.
On the goaltending: I thought [Brandon Bussi] was great. Made, especially in the third, a lot of saves there to give us a chance. Then obviously [Devin] Cooley played well too. Both of them had good nights.
On if Calgary was just more desperate: I don't know. I think it's more about what we didn't do. We got away from what makes us successful. The forecheck wasn't all five pieces and they were getting easy exits. We're a forechecking team and when our forecheck is out of sync, that's what it looks like. They start coming down and they look pretty good when we're out of sync.
On guys stepping up with all the injuries: Obviously there's been a lot of guys getting nicked up here to start the year. I think forever around here it's been the next-man-up mentality. That's not going to change anytime soon. I think everyone is comfortable with whoever we put in. It's just the way it is right now.
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