Rachel Barkley
If there is a textbook way to set the tone for a series, that was the way to do it.
In sixty minutes, the Carolina Hurricanes answered the bell for a fight, paved the way with depth scoring, landed hits when the moment called for it (and even when it didn’t), and achieved a shutout in Game 1 of the first round against the Ottawa Senators, as they secured a 2-0 win.
Captains Jordan Staal and Brady Tkachuk Fight at Opening Draw
The very moment the puck dropped, the captains Brady Tkachuk and Jordan Staal flung off their gloves and started landing blows on one another.
“I kinda saw a few of the guys chatting off the draw there,” Logan Stankoven said of the moment after the game. “I can’t remember who was on the far side there, but they weren’t really ready to line up for puck drop, so I thought maybe something was happening, and sure enough…great way to get the crowd into it, and thought ‘Jordo’ did a great job.”
Head coach Rod Brind’Amour confirmed that he had not noticed anything between them before puck drop, and was not expecting the fight.
Frankly, the moment came less as a surprise regarding Tkachuk, but certainly regarding Staal, who has not been known to be a fighter.
Both entered the box at the three-second mark, and both were given five minutes for fighting.
Secondary Scoring Pushes Hurricanes to Victory
Ultimately, it wasn’t until the second period before anyone got on the board. With a nifty puck flip from the blue line into a crowded area, Alexander Nikishin’s playmaking move quickly found the stick of Taylor Hall, who sent it to Jackson Blake, who then sent it to Stankoven, who sent a wrister past Linus Ullmark – the netminder getting a piece of it, but not enough to stop it. Nikishin didn’t get a point for it, but he got the play started on what became the game-winning goal.
In the third frame, the Senators lost their top-pairing defenseman, Artem Zub, who was absent from the bench as the game commenced.
Early in the period, Drake Batherson tried to put the puck in on the power play, but the glove of Frederik Andersen managed to catch it. Due to the location it was gloved, it was called a goal on the ice, and quickly underwent a review to see if it had crossed the goal line. After a few moments, it was pulled off the board after it was proven not to have made it across.
Soon after, the Hurricanes’ second line trio struck again as the puck remained loose in Ullmark’s crease. Chaos ensued momentarily as they tried to get the puck past the goal line, and eventually, they did so. The goal was initially given to Stankoven, but a few minutes later, it was changed to Hall.
The Senators tried to keep the pressure on the Hurricanes, but ultimately could not crack through. Carolina outhit them 57-39, outshot them 29-22, and outchanced them 35-23 in all situations. Ottawa led in the faceoff dot with 56.4% of draws one, but the Hurricanes managed to keep it from mounting to much.
Hurricanes Notes
This is the first time in Stanley Cup Playoff history that the Hurricanes have faced the Senators.
In early November, Staal engaged in a fight in defense of Jalen Chatfield, who had taken an illegal check to the head during a game against the Minnesota Wild. It was the first time in nine seasons that he had been in a fight.
With his sixth career NHL postseason shutout, Andersen is tied for third-most postseason shutouts among active goalies, behind only Jonathan Quick and Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Both teams remained perfect on the penalty kill.
