Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal says 5-0 Eastern Conference final loss to Panthers was an 'a-- whooping'

Jordan Staal, the Hurricanes' captain, offered a blunt assessment of how the game went. 

"I think we're all a little bit at a loss," Hurricanes forward Taylor Hall said.

At one point, fans started chanting, "Shoot the puck! Shoot the puck!" The Hurricanes managed just 17 shots on goal in the loss. 

"This game is mental," Staal said. "I mean, it's all about the brain and your focus and the thoughts that can creep in. It's got to be the thoughts we've been thinking all year, and that's playing our game and focusing on our shifts and our battles and doing what we do.

"When you let those thoughts like that come in, it never looks good. I think we've got to believe in the group and what we have and what we've done all year and go steal one in Game 3."

Now Brind'Amour will hope to lead a turnaround in Game 3, scheduled for 8 p.m. ET Saturday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.