RALEIGH, N.C. _ Rod Brind'Amour knew that being a head coach would mean being able to handle both good wins and tough losses.
Brind'Amour's first game as head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday was a tough loss. The Canes tied the score late in regulation but then lost 2-1 on Josh Bailey's power-play score at 43 seconds of OT at PNC Arena.
The Canes tied it 1-1 on Jordan Staal's goal with 1:35 left in regulation after Brind'Amour pulled goalie Petr Mrazek for a sixth attacker. Defenseman Dougie Hamilton got off a one-timer from the right wing with Staal and Micheal Feland in front of goalie Thomas Greiss, Staal getting his stick on the puck.
After a lengthy review, with the sellout crowd chanting "Goal! Goal!" the ruling was a good goal.
But Ferland was called for tripping Mathew Barzal with 3.2 seconds left in regulation, allowing the Isles to go into overtime on a four-on-three power play. Bailey ended it quickly with a shot from the right wing.
Valtteri Filppula's score at 9:27 of the second period gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead and Greiss wouldn't be beaten until the final 95 seconds of regulation as Barry Trotz won his first game as the Islanders head coach.
There was much to celebrate for the Canes going into the game: Brind'Amour getting his chance, captain Justin Williams' 37th birthday, the NHL debut of Andrei Svechnikov and the Hurricanes debut of Hamilton, Calvin de Haan, Michael Ferland and Jordan Martinook.
And Mrazek. Signed as a free agent in the offseason, Mrazek was the starting goaltender in the opener.
The Canes, with five rookie forwards in the lineup, had no problem getting shots. They had 46 to the Isles' 20 and had several shots find posts or the crossbar.
By the third period, Brind'Amour had Martin Necas and Svechnikov, both teenagers, on the same line, looking for something good.
The game had all the trappings of a Canes season opener at home: thousands of tail-gaters around PNC Arena, a band playing, pleasant weather, good times for all in the hours leading up to the game.
Almost eight hours before game time, after the Canes' morning skate, Brind'Amour said he wasn't sure how he would fill the time, that his pregame routine wasn't yet set. Maybe just stay at the arena, he said. "There's a lot to do. There's always something to do," he said.
After Petey Pablo, he of the Canes' new goal song, sounded the siren, the players were introduced. Williams was last, receiving the biggest ovation. He skated out of the players' line, asking that his teammates surround him and join in raising their sticks, a salute to an excited, towel-waving crowd.
The first period was filled with more energy than execution, by both teams. The Canes outshot the Isles 16-7 and Justin Faulk and Svechnikov had attempts hit the iron. In the second period, an alert Sebastian Aho saved the Canes, sweeping away the puck inches from the goal line with Mrazek out of position. Moments later, Svechnikov had a shot bang off Greiss' mask. The Islanders had just 11 shots midway through the second. The 12th found the net. The Canes turned the puck over along the boards in their zone and Filppula got behind Hamilton. Filppula outwaited Mrazek and found the net.
