How Logan Stankoven gave the Hurricanes a fighting chance against the Capitals
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Logan Stankoven fought Martin Fehervary, defended teammates, drew cheers.
- Canes' Stankoven line with Ehlers and Blake drove offensive momentum.
- Capitals prevailed 4-1; Logan Thompson made 30 saves, Andersen left.
Logan Stankoven of the Carolina Hurricanes has been called a lot of things: feisty, competitive, driven, a sniper.
And, yes, short.
But Stankoven also is a fighter, if need be. Forget his lack of height; there is no lack of fight.
“He’s not going to back down,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Tuesday.
Stankoven showed that during the Canes’ 4-1 loss to the Washington Capitals at Lenovo Center, ending an altercation with blood smeared on his face and an arena of cheering fans.
Late in the first period, Canes goalie Frederik Andersen left the net to play the puck. Caps forward Nic Dowd came charging in and banged into Andersen, the goalie falling to the ice.
Andersen popped back up, angry, going after Dowd. Then, chaos. Caps defenseman Martin Fehervary grabbed Canes forward Jackson Blake and Stankoven, one of Blake’s closest friends on the team, would have none of that.
“When you see a teammate down like that, and they’re trying to push us around, you’re not going to stand for that.” Stankoven said. “Sometimes, you’ve got to stand up for teammates and stand your ground. Being a smaller guy, you can’t be afraid of getting in there and getting your hands dirty.
“I just tried to jump in there and next thing you know gloves are off.”
It was on. Fehervary at 6-2 and 215 pounds is six inches taller and about 50 pounds heavier. Not that it mattered to Stankoven. He went toe to toe, trading punches, before the two wrestled to the ice.
“You don’t really feel much in the moment, you’re just swinging away,” Stankoven said.
Both players were given fighting majors -- a first in the NHL for Stankoven -- and Stankoven came away with a cut on his right eyebrow.
The fans loved it. His teammates appreciated it.
“Honestly, I really enjoyed it,” Stankoven said, smiling.
Enjoyed it?
“I actually did,” he said.
In April, in a game against the Caps, Stankoven was ejected after sparring with Tom Wilson, one of the NHL’s top bruisers and bad boys. He also was named the game’s third star that night, coming back on the ice in shorts after the game to take a bow.
Stankoven came to Carolina in March of last season in a trade with the Dallas Stars that sent disgruntled forward Mikko Rantanen to Dallas for Stankoven and multiple draft picks, including two firsts. Stankoven quickly earned respect from his new teammates.
This season, Brind’Amour had a request: move from winger to center. Stankoven has done that, and his line with wingers Nikolaj Ehlers and Blake has carried a chunk of the Canes’ offense of late.
Trailing the Caps 2-0 in the second period, the line produced a goal when Blake made a nice move to the net to get off a shot and Ehlers was there to follow up on the rebound. Ehlers had his third goal of the season and extended his point streak to five games.
Later in the period, Blake got off another shot while falling and Stankoven just missed on the rebound on the far side.
“That line, they were dragging us into the game, trying to get us going,” Brind’Amour said.
The Caps made it 3-1 with a power-play goal from defenseman Jakob Chychrun in the third while the Canes soon came less than an inch from making it a 3-2 game after some heavy jamming at the Caps net — the ruling after a review being the puck did not completely cross the goal line.
The Caps’ Alexander Ovechkin had a late empty netter — his 901st career goal — and the Caps got some quality play in net from goalie Logan Thompson, who had 30 saves. The Caps (8-7-1) were 1-5-1 in their previous seven games, but were the sharper team Tuesday.
The Canes (11-5-0) got a scare late in the game when Jordan Staal was tangling with a Caps player in front of the crease and fell on Andersen. The goalie was slowing getting up and then replaced by Pyotr Kochetkov — Brind’Amour later said Andersen was pulled from the game by the concussion spotter,
At 5-11 and listed at 185 pounds, Blake isn’t much bigger than his teammate and centerman. His shiftiness and puckhandling skills make him a good fit for the Stankoven line along with Ehlers, the veteran winger the Canes obtained in free agency.
Brind’Amour says the competitiveness of Stankoven and Blake, along with the skill, allows them to be effective, saying, “That’s the separator that allows guys that size to be able to compete against guys that are monsters.”
Brind’Amour has liked much of what he has seen of the Stankoven move to center.
“He’s been really solid,” Brind’Amour said. “There’s going to be moments where playing center is really different and you’re not used to it. I think it takes a couple of years before you really see how this whole process can go.”
As for Stankoven, he said, “It’s getting better.” He’s still working to be better on draws — he has won about 43 percent of his faceoffs this season — and said he often watches video with Brind’Amour looking for ways to improve in the circle.
“Sometimes, it’s a tough night in the faceoff dot, but you can’t let that affect your game,” Stankoven said. “You can’t let it creep in your game or let it affect your confidence.”
Little appears to do that, even when the gloves come off.
This story was originally published November 12, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
