Jesperi Kotkaniemi Stays In, Hurricanes Keep Game 2 Lineup
jesperi kotkaniemi stayed in the Hurricanes’ lineup as Rod Brind'Amour made no changes for Game 2 against the Canadiens on May 23, 2026. Carolina needed a win at home to avoid heading to Montreal trailing 0-2 in the series, and the morning skate showed the same group from the previous workout.
Carolina Keeps The Same Group
The lineup listed Svechnikov, Aho, Jarvis, Hall, Stankoven, Blake, Ehlers, Staal, Martinook, Carrier, Jankowski, Robinson, Deslauriers, and Kotkaniemi. That was the full look ahead of the 7 p.m. ET start, and it left Brind'Amour with the same forward mix going into a game that can swing the series before it shifts north.
Carolina did not make a single change to its lineup at practice before Game 2. Morning skate looked the same, too, which made the decision plain long before puck drop at Lenovo Center.
Brind'Amour's Canadiens Warning
Brind'Amour has said the Canadiens are the kind of team that can win even when they are being dominated, and that is the part that gives the no-change approach its edge. A team that believes it already has the right formula can also walk into the same mistake twice, especially after the kind of result that would send it to Montreal down 0-2.
That caution sits alongside the memory of 2021, when the Maple Leafs had a similar mindset against Montreal and still lost the series in seven games. Arpon Basu pointed to that precedent, which is the kind of comparison that hangs over a playoff team choosing stability instead of adjustment.
Lenovo Center Voices
Erik Cole was at Lenovo Center for the game, adding another familiar face to a night already built around one roster call. Carolina also posted, "Some legends in the house tonight," while a separate post from May 22 carried the line, "Nick Suzuki's aging like fine wine. He just keeps getting better every year."
For Carolina, the practical takeaway is simple: the same lineup gets the first chance to erase the pressure of an 0-2 hole at home. If the formula works, the Hurricanes carry that group forward; if it does not, this unchanged Game 2 look becomes the first thing people revisit.
