Jordan Staal lifts Hurricanes past Predators with clutch overtime goal
Jordan Staal is called “Gronk” by some. He was referred to as a “beast” by center Sebastian Aho and a “monster” by Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour on Tuesday.
Staal also is something else: captain.
He’s the Canes’ leader, the man with the “C,” and he led his team to a 3-2 overtime victory Tuesday over the Nashville Predators at PNC Arena, scoring the winner with 34.9 seconds left.
“Tonight, Jordan Staal won the game for us,” Brind’Amour said. “To me, the way he plays is the reason why we’re kind of where we’re at right now. It’s infectious.”
Staal’s second-period power-play goal helped jump-start a Canes rally from 2-0 deficit. It came on the power play after the Preds’ Dante Fabbro elbowed Canes forward Brock McGinn in the head, an ugly, nasty hit into the glass that changed everything.
Aho, who had assisted on Staal’s goal, soon added a goal on a 5-on-3 power play and the Predators’ 2-0 lead was gone. Both teams had their chances in the third period, but the game went to overtime, where the Canes were a bit too loose with the puck and gave up possession too easily.
Until Staal more or less decided to end it.
Collecting the puck along the boards, the 6-4, 220-pound center skated down the left wing and powered his way to a forehand shot that beat goalie Pekka Rinne, giving the Canes (18-6-1) a sixth straight victory.
“It was not one of our better overtimes (and) was kind of indicative of our whole game,” Brind’Amour said. “We were loose, we were just casual. It was hard to get a good feel for anything we were doing.
“That’s why he’s the captain. He just said, ‘enough.’”
Staal looked that way in the second period, too. When he scored on the power play, he thrust out a fist. There seemed to be a little anger in it, the hit on McGinn still fresh in his mind.
“I thought it was a tough hit,” Staal said. “Brock’s our toughest guy on the team and when he goes down you know it’s not a good feeling. Our power play wanted to get one for him and I thought it got us momentum.”
Aho’s one-timer came with one second left on the 5-on-3 advantage. The Canes had four minutes of power-play time remaining from a double-minor high-sticking call on the Preds’ Mathieu Olivier, but an Andrei Svechnikov penalty stalled the Canes’ push.
The Canes did what was necessary to win. They killed off all five penalties, with Staal in the middle of it. They outshot the Predators 35-23, Staal getting a game-high six shots. They were better on faceoffs as Staal won 20 of his 28 draws.
“He was a monster in every aspect,” Brind’Amour said.
Goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, in his eighth start of the season, allowed goals on a Matt Benning shot from the point and Ryan Johansen’s deflection in the second period. But he also made some quality stops.
The Predators (11-14-1) had not lost in overtime this season before Tuesday, and had their chances to win another one. Viktor Arvidsson missed an open net with a backhander and another Nashville attempt hit the iron.
Staal took it from there, scoring his 10th goal of the season.
“He’s a big body out there, so strong,” Aho said. ”He’s a beast.
This story was originally published March 9, 2021 at 6:29 PM.
