Rod Brind’Amour can definitely use a break. For 15 straight Eastern Conference Finals matches, the Carolina Hurricanes haven’t recorded a win. While the stat alone could prompt some fans to speculate if a loss at tonight’s game against the Florida Panthers would put the Canes’ boss’ job on the line, Rod has other things to focus on at the moment. And it looks like his players are pretty much on the same page as their boss about pulling one back against the defending champs, by hook or crook.

“He dodged a bullet,” said the Carolina Hurricanes’ HC when Jesperi Kotkaniemi came dangerously close to losing an eye during the first round of the playoffs. But now, it was actually the Cats’ Seth Jones who narrowly missed the Finnish hockey center. Desperate times call for desperate measures, huh? But what happens when a desperate attempt just misses its target? Well, the fans might have something to say about that.

The official Sportsnet account took to X on May 26 to share snippets of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals from the Amerant Bank Arena. Captioned, “Seth Jones dodges a flying Jesperi Kotkaniemi,” the post shows how the Carolina Hurricanes’ star went all in with hopes of making Jones’ day in the office as troublesome as possible right before the 1st intermission.

Kotkaniemi could be seen trying to slam Jones into the boards behind Florida’s net, but the Panthers’ defenseman’s quick thinking kept him out of the tricky situation. However, even though the Carolina man missed his man, he let his stick take a free swing as a follow-up to his take-out attempt. That might have been too much for the fans.

“This is so embarassing lol.” sneered one fan, highlighting that such a gaping miss should have prompted the Carolina Hurricanes’ star to take a hike to the team benches. With a +8 plus/minus, Jones has been a pillar in the Panthers’ postseason this season. Naturally, you don’t have to delve into things too much to understand that the Florida defenseman has made his presence on the ice impossible to overlook. Maybe that’s why the Carolina Hurricanes’ forward thought it would give the team a fighting chance without having Seth defend the Cats’ defensive zone tonight.

But even then, NHL stars, pretty much like the Cosa Nostra, have a code of their own (probably the NHL’s player safety regulations have something to do with it, we don’t know for sure *wink emoji*). Whatever it may be, the Florida Panthers have had their fair share of dealing with issues regarding players taking each other out. But there’s one thing that separates them and the Carolina Hurricanes: The Cats have managed to land almost every shot they’ve fired. And yet, seeing how Kotkaniemi resorted to sneaky measures has the fans laughing and fuming at the same time.

The fans go after the Carolina Hurricanes’ celebrity

“idk what’s more dangerous, the leg kick with the skate in the air or the flinging of the stick where Jones head just was,” vented one fan on X, slamming Jesperi’s move as “gross.” Maybe the feelings are stronger because, despite his attempts at taking out Carolina’s opponents, Kotkaiemi himself has been less than impressive in the postseason. With only 4 assists, the Fin hasn’t been much help for the Hurricanes’ offensive prowess in the playoffs.

The Canes managed to shut out the Panthers tonight. With a 3-0 win, Frederik Andersen proved his worth, and the squad finally, finally, put an end to its long postseason woes. Before tonight, the Metropolitan Division team won its last Eastern Conference Finals match way back in 2006. The defeats in the first two games even made many fans ponder whether further losses would get coach Rod Brind’Amour shown the door. Well, thankfully, the veteran coach will have something to show for after today. But no thanks to Jesperi, that’s for sure. “What a clown,” said one fan seeing Kotkaniemi’s failed attempt.

“This has got to be one of the dumbest hit attempts I’ve ever seen. Leaving the feet is bad enough,” reiterated another. The Panthers vs Hurricanes postseason matches are always a treat for the eyes. The last time the two giants met in the playoffs, in 2023, Matthew Tkachuk’s last-minute buzzer-beater pushed the Canes out of the Stanley Cup contention. And yet, the Cats’ star noted he wanted to commence this year’s playoffs on a clean slate. It could be that under such circumstances, Jesperi’s dirty play got even more under the skin of the fans. “textbook flying chicken wing,” jibed another fan.

What did you think of the Carolina star’s antics from tonight? Tell us in a comment!