Hurricanes hold off stubborn Senators. How Carolina pulled away in a 5-3 opening-night win
The game had ended but the team captains were still engaged.
Jordan Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes was not yet through, going face to face with Brady Tkachuk of the Ottawa Senators along the boards. Words were exchanged, loudly, after Staal made sure there would be no final-second liberties taken by Tkachuk.
“Just having a good little chit-chat,” Staal later said, smiling.
It was an interesting ending to a good opening night for the Hurricanes, who let a two-goal lead slip away in the third period but punched out a 5-3 victory Wednesday at a packed PNC Arena.
“It’s nice to get that first one,” Staal said. “I think we were a little antsy, a little loose tonight, but we found a way to outscore them. We’ll try not to do that every night but we’ll take this one.”
Staal, named the game’s first star, had a goal and assist, as did defenseman Brady Skjei. It was Skjei who pushed the Canes back ahead at 7:51 of the third period after the Sens had tied the score, burying a shot from the top of the left circle.
Defenseman Jaccob Slavin then struck shorthanded, taking a pass from Jesperi Kotkaniemi and beating goalie Joonas Korpisalo with a short-side snipe.
Canes goaltender Frederik Andersen allowed a first-period goal off a tip by the Sens’ Mathieu Joseph, then two rapid-fire goals by Parker Kelly and Tim Stutzle in the third that tied the score. But he had his share of sparkling pad and glove saves as he faced 30 shots in the game, especially in the first two periods.
“Freddie kept us in there,” Brind’Amour said.
Michael Bunting, in his first game with the Canes, scored the first goal of the season, on a second-period power play, and Teuvo Teravainen ripped a shot later in the period for a 2-1 lead. When Staal scored in the opening seconds of the third off a backhander, it was 3-1.
Staal celebrated with a big upper cut that had the thrust of a knockout punch.
But the Sens weren’t flattened. Kelly scored shorthanded and Stutzle soon followed with a goal — make it two in 35 seconds — as Ottawa tied it.
“They’re a really fast team,” Brind’Amour said. “They were getting up and down the ice, and they’re going to be a team to reckon with.”
It was opening night, with all the usual pomp and circumstance. The tailgaters were out early, the atmosphere expectant inside and outside PNC Arena and the pregame introductions loud and lively — especially the roars for Brind’Amour, starting his sixth season as head coach.
“It was electric in here,” Brind’Amour said. “Those are special moments, really, when it’s like that.”
Canes owner Tom Dundon sounded the warning siren, if quickly, and the game started well — for the Senators. In the first 10 minutes of the game, the Sens outworked a team that prides itself on not being outworked.
The Canes, with a lineup of 11 forwards and seven defensemen, steadied in the final 10 minutes of the opening period, began applying the pressure and outshot the Sens 19-10 in the second. The forecheck was better, the passing better.
Bunting gathered in a loose puck in front of Korpisalo and scored early in the second. Teravainen then took a sharp cross-ice pass from Martin Necas, caught Korpisalo out of position and buried his shot.
Staal’s goal came after a pass from Jordan Martinook, Staal keeping the puck away from defenseman Thomas Chabot and getting off the shot.
Staal’s line, with Martinook and Jesper Fast, did the heavy lifting in checking the Stutzle line of Tkachuk and Claude Giroux. That was a key part of the victory, as was the Canes’ penalty killing -- Ottawa was 0-4 on the power play.
Many had hoped Andrei Svechnikov would be ready for opening night, but the Canes’ power forward will need a little more time to rehab his right knee.
“We kind of knew it may not be possible,” Canes president and general manager Don Waddell said Wednesday. “This isn’t a Rod or Don decision. It’s a doctor’s decision until his strength gets to where everybody is comfortable.”
Before Wednesday’s opener, Canes center Sebastian Aho said, “We definitely have a chance to do something special with this group. Hopefully we can start the right way.”
The Hurricanes did it right.
This story was originally published October 11, 2023 at 9:56 PM.
