Hurricanes’ Rod Brind’Amour bemoans 2nd period collapse in Game 3 2OT loss to VGK

The Carolina Hurricanes forced overtime in improbable fashion on Saturday night in Game 3. However, they were unable to defeat the Vegas Golden Knights. Carolina trails 2-1 in the 2026 Stanley Cup Final. And in Rod Brind’Amour’s mind, Carolina’s performance in the second period is what cost them this contest.

“I knew we were going to get going eventually, get back in the game and give ourselves a chance to win, but you can’t have those mistakes in the second period,” Brind’Amour told reporters after the game, via team reporter Walt Ruff.

The Hurricanes saw six pucks cross the goal line in the middle frame. However, only four of those goals actually counted. Still, Carolina entered the third period trailing 4-0. It seemed as if Vegas would cruise to a big win on Saturday night.

However, Carolina was able to score four goals in the third period to force overtime. Jordan Staal, Taylor Hall, and Jordan Martinook scored within 39 seconds of each other to make it a one-goal game. Later on, it was Andrei Svechnikov who scored to make it a 4-4 game with less than two minutes remaining.

In the end, the Hurricanes fell short. They can take some solace knowing they can mount a big comeback if needed. At the same time, they need to ensure that they don’t allow another huge period like that again.

Thankfully, Carolina will have a couple days off to rest and regroup. The Hurricanes and Golden Knights won’t hit the ice again until Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena for Game 4.

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