If there was a textbook way to set the tone for a series, this was the way to do it.
In sixty minutes, the Carolina Hurricanes rang the bell, leading the way with scoring from deep, putting up hits when needed (and even when it didn't), and earning a shutout in Game 1 of the first round against the Ottawa Senators, as they won 2–0.
Captains Jordan Staal and Brady Tkachuk battle in the opening draw
As soon as the puck dropped, captains Brady Tkachuk and Jordan Staal took off their gloves and began attacking each other.
"I saw some guys out there talking about the draw," Logan Stankoven said of the moment after the game. "I can't remember who was furthest down there, but they weren't really ready to line up for puck drop, so I thought maybe something was going on, and sure... great way to get the crowd involved, and I thought 'Jordo' did a great job."
Head coach Rod Brind'Amour confirmed that he did not see anything between them before puck drop, and did not expect a fight.
To be honest, this moment was less surprising in relation to Tkachuk, but certainly in relation to Staal, who is not known as a fighter.
Both entered the box after three seconds and were given five minutes to fight.
Secondary scoring propels Hurricanes to victory
Ultimately, it wasn't until the second period before someone came on the board. With a nifty puck flip from the blue line in the crowded area, Alexander Nikishin's playmaking move immediately found the stick of Taylor Hall, who passed it to Jackson Blake, who then passed it to Stankoven, who sent a wrister past Linus Ullmark – the netminder was getting a piece of it, but not enough to stop it. Nikishin didn't get any points for it, but he got the game going with the game-winning goal.
In the third frame, the Senators lost their top-pairing defenseman, Artem Zub, who was absent from the bench when the game began.
Early in the period, Drake Batherson tried to put the puck in on the power play, but Frederik Andersen's glove managed to catch it. Due to the spot where it was covered by the glove, it was called a goal on the ice, and was immediately reviewed to see if it had crossed the goal line. After a few moments, it is removed from the board after it has been proven that it has not been crossed.
Shortly thereafter, the Hurricanes' second-row trio struck again as Ullmark was left with the puck loose in the crease. There was a momentary chaos as he tried to move the puck over the goal line and eventually, he did. The goal was initially awarded to Stankoven, but after a few minutes it was changed to Hall.
The senators tried to keep the pressure on the stormtroopers, but ultimately did not succeed. Carolina outshot them 57–39, outshot them 29–22 and outshot them 35–23 in all situations. Ottawa led in the faceoff dot with 56.4% of draws, but the Hurricanes managed to keep it from going much further.
storm notes
This marked the first time in Stanley Cup playoff history that the Hurricanes faced the Senators.
In early November, Staal became involved in a fight in defense of Jalen Chatfield, who took an illegal check to the head during a game against the Minnesota Wild. It was the first time in nine seasons that he was in a fight.
With his sixth career NHL postseason shutout, Anderson is tied for third-most postseason shutouts among active goaltenders, behind only Jonathan Quick and Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Both teams were perfect on the penalty kill.
