Rachel Barkley
After a game that Carolina Hurricanes’ head coach Rod Brind’Amour said needed to be flushed, the Hurricanes bounced back and showed the hockey they’ve been known for in Game 2 against the Montreal Canadiens.
They surged to a 3-2 win in overtime – and everyone contributed, from top to bottom. Hard offensive pressure returned, and defense kept up with the quick movements from opposing forwards slipping into the slot – the Canadiens’ signature style. The Hurricanes’ own signature style – suffocation – was clear for all to see. Throughout the game, they put 26 shots on goal, while allowing just 12 from the Canadiens.
It was a fantastic way to set the tone for the rest of the series, and send the message that this isn’t the same Hurricanes team we’ve seen in Eastern Conference Finals past. For the first time since 2006, they secured an ECF game win on home ice.
Fly Like an Ehlers
“Easiest assist of my life,” Mark Jankowski said, having given the primary assist to Nikolaj Ehlers, who scored the game-winning goal in overtime. With legs fresh after some time on the bench, Ehlers reached a 19 MPH speed burst on his mad dash to the net, launching it past Jakub Dobes for the second overtime game-winning goal of his postseason career in the NHL.
“I like seeing the fans get fired up,” Ehlers said when NHL on TNT analyst Paul Bissonnette asked him about staring down the crowd in his cellies. “Especially that OT winner – I wanted to soak that in, and that was a special feeling to be able to do that at home…I’m never going to forget that one.”
The game-winner wasn’t the only goal Ehlers scored Saturday night. In the second period, he gave the Hurricanes the go-ahead goal in a silky individual effort, dancing the puck between the likes of Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson while hopping over a rut in the ice before firing a marvelous wrist shot. Behind the bench, Brind’Amour had made a switch to start the game; he had made the decision to match the third line up with the Canadiens’ top line. Ehlers’ smooth second period goal proved that it was the right choice for the night.
After tying the series 1-1, the Hurricanes will head to Montreal, Quebec, on Monday with a fresh start and a new tone set for Game 3.
