Hurricanes sweep Senators to advance to second round
For the sixth season in a row, the Carolina Hurricanes will be a part of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Hurricanes earned a 4-2 win on Saturday afternoon to finish off a four-game sweep of the Ottawa Senators in which they never trailed, becoming the first team since the 2009 Detroit Red Wings to complete a first-round series without ever trailing in a game, according to ESPN’s research department.
Carolina got the series started with a 2-0 win on home ice over the Senators powered by a shutout performance from goalie Frederik Andersen, who allowed just five goals over the course of the series, posting a .955 save percentage and 0.84 goals against average in one of the best playoff series of his long career.
Game 2 was a double overtime thriller that saw Jordan Martinook play the role of hero after an apparent Mark Jankowski goal was disallowed due to offside and Martinook failed to convert a penalty shot that immediately followed the review.
With a 2-0 series lead in hand for Carolina, the series shifted to Ottawa, where the Hurricanes earned a 2-1 win in Game 3 on Thursday night before closing the series out in a tumultuous Game 4 win.
Along with Andersen’s success, the story of the series for the Canes was their second line of Logan Stankoven, Taylor Hall and Jackson Blake. Stankoven scored in all four games, including game-opening goals in the first three contests, and Hall held the NHL lead for points in the playoffs upon the conclusion of the game.
Ottawa was without several key members on defense, including star Jake Sanderson for part of Game 3 and all of Game 4, along with his partner Artem Zub, who left Game 1 after getting injured delivering a hit to Seth Jarvis and never returned.
Carolina advances to the second round of the Metropolitan Division’s portion of the bracket, where they will await the winner of the series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers have a chance to complete a sweep of their in-state rivals on Saturday night. The Hurricanes would have home-ice advantage against either opponent.