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.

Rachel Barkley is a beat writer covering the Carolina Hurricanes for Carolina Hockey Now on SportsNote. Painting Stories…More About Rachel Barclay

It’s official, folks, the Ottawa Senators will take on the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the playoffs. This places the Senators in the metropolitan portion of the bracket for the first two rounds, along with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers. They are the second wild card team, which puts them in eighth place in the East playoff picture. This will be the Senators’ first playoff game against the Hurricanes in team history. So, what can we expect from this matchup? Let’s get into the details.

Read more: The rise of the Senators and the fall of the Red Wings

Hurricanes’ previous playoff success

The Hurricanes have made the playoffs eight consecutive years. Here are their first round results over the past seven years:

• 2019: Beat Capitals 4-3
• 2020: Beat Rangers 3–0 in qualifying round (then lost to Bruins 4–1 in official first round)
• 2021: Beat the Predators, 4-2
• 2022: Defeated Bruins 4-3
• 2023: Beat Islanders 4-2
• 2024: Beat Islanders 4-1
• 2025:Beat the Devils, 4-1

The Hurricanes have surpassed the 110-point mark in four of the last five seasons. That likely would have been five out of six years, except that 2021 was a 56-game season (they were the top team in their division with 80 points). They have made three conference finals during that time. Basically, they are a well-oiled machine. Effort is never an issue. They are as consistent a hockey team as you will find in the league. His issue has mainly been the lack of star power. Time and again, they lose to a team whose stars outperform the Hurricanes’ best players. In last year’s conference finals against the Panthers, they lost 21–10 in a five-game series.

storm players to watch

Here are the storm watchers:

• i am sebastian He is Mr. Consistency. He scored 80 points in 79 games this season. He puts up numbers like this every year.
• andrei svechnikov He’s scary when he’s on his game, but he’s not that consistent. He scored 31 goals and 70 points this year. He started the year scoreless in his first nine matches.
• seth jarvis That’s enough to become a member of Team Canada. He scored a team-high 32 goals this year. Last year also he had scored the same amount. the year before? 33. His total points over those three years: 67, 67, 66. Clearly another consistent player.
• Nikolaj Ehlers The new guy is in his first season with the Canes after being with the Jets for a decade. He was every bit as good as expected, scoring a career-high 71 points
• Shayne Gostisbear One of their best offensive defenders. He scored 50 points in 55 games this year. His 0.91 points per game ranked ninth among D-men.
• jacob slavin His shutdown D-man. He helped the USA win the gold medal at this Winter Olympics. Due to injury he played only 39 matches this season.

Looking at their stats, it’s clear how deep this Hurricanes team is. I’ve limited it to the six players above, but there are many more that deserve mention. jackson blake, logan stankoven and captain jordan steele All scored 20+ goals. Taylor Hall Scored around 50 marks. k’andre miller, Alexander NikishinAnd sean walker Help build a deep blueline.

A weakness other than not being a true superstar? Goaltending is a big question mark. brandon bus Won 31 games this season but has struggled with a .872 SV% since the beginning of February. experienced Frederick Anderson Has a .874 SV% in 35 games this season. Their third goalkeeper, Pyotr KochetkovPlayed only nine games this season due to a hip injury.

The Senator and the Hurricane, by the numbers

Let’s take a look at where both teams rank in key categories over the course of the season:

I’m here to say once again that the Carolina Hurricane is a well-oiled machine. They are a high level team in every way. In fact, watching him play, it’s clear that Travis Green has tried to emulate his style with this Senators team. The Hurricanes dominate the shot battle in almost every game by an average of 32.2 to 23.9. The Senators are great in their own right with an average of 28.9 to 24.4.

The Senators’ glaring weakness is their penalty kill. However, this may be a problem of the past. On January 24, he replaced Mike Yeo to lead the penalty kill. Since then, his success rate is 83.1%, which is the fifth best mark during that time.

What is also interesting is that in the three meetings this season, the Senators managed to win the shot battle all three times (37-19, 27-19, 31-28). Unfortunately, they won only one game out of three.

One area that is not included in the hurricane stat sheet is the area that is hit. He averaged 19.63 points per 60 minutes this season, which is good for 18th in the NHL. The Senators were third at 23.59. The Hurricanes often try to steal the puck instead. His 470 takeaways rank first in the NHL. This will be something to watch as the Senators pride themselves on winning puck battles. He finished fourth this season with 413 takeaways.

final thoughts

It is believed to be a one versus eight matchup in the Eastern Conference. It’s really a battle between the second and ninth best teams in the NHL this season. If we look at the standings starting from January 25, here is how well these teams have played:

• ottawa senators: 21-6-4, .742 points percentage (second best in the NHL)
• carolina storm: 21-7-2, .733 points percentage (4th best in the NHL)

With average goaltending, the Senators would be higher in the standings, meaning the matchup would never make it to the first round. Instead, the Senators played 50 games with terrible goaltending, making them the second wild card team. This would make this a heavyweight first-round matchup against two of the best shot suppression teams in the league, who have tremendous depth and can score a lot of goals.

The Hurricanes deserve the support, but the Senators are playing great hockey right now. The series begins Saturday in Carolina. Here’s one last statistic to wrap up this article: Including the 2020 preliminary round, the Hurricanes have played one game in their first playoff series in six consecutive years.

Danny was born and raised in Ottawa and still lives in that city. He has followed… more about Danny McCloskey

As Barry Trotz’s retirement approaches, the Nashville Predators’ search for a new general manager is intensifying. Now, a new rumor has surfaced – their victim is being linked to the Carolina Hurricanes.

During Eliot Friedman’ssaturday headlines‘Segment in the second intermission of’hockey night in canada‘, Sportsnet’s insider shared the latest rumors from the Predators’ pursuit, including a report that Nashville requested to speak to Hurricanes GM, Eric Tulsky.

“Hurricane didn’t talk about it when I asked about it today,” Friedman said. “But I understand — it’s kind of a weird timing, because Keith Pelley mentioned Eric Tulsky’s name the other day — but during their search, Nashville asked permission to talk to Carolina’s GM, and he was again denied. The Hurricanes will not discuss it.”

Tulsky’s first job with an NHL team – a consultant role – was with the Predators during the 2012 offseason. Considering his past relationships and the Hurricanes’ recent front-office success, it would make sense for the Predators to talk to him. But it says even more about his role in Carolina that his request was not even considered.

Darren Yorke reportedly interviewed by Nashville

Tulsky wasn’t the only guy from Carolina to draw interest from the Tennessee team. Friedman continued discussing the rumors, including what he has heard about the candidates and personal interviews, listing Brett Peterson (Florida Panthers assistant GM), Scott White (Dallas Stars assistant GM), Bill Scott (Edmonton Oilers assistant GM), and Darren York (Carolina Hurricanes assistant GM).

“As far as I can tell, this has not been reported before,” he said. “Darren Yorke from the Carolina Hurricanes. He’s the GM of the Chicago Wolves; he’s been there for 17 years. I think he had a personal journey. We’ll see where Nashville goes from here.”

Friedman further noted that the Hurricanes also refused to speak to him regarding the rumors regarding York.

Rachel Barkley is a beat writer covering the Carolina Hurricanes for Carolina Hockey Now on SportsNote. Painting Stories…More About Rachel Barclay

The Carolina Hurricanes did it again.

With their 5–2 win on Saturday, the Hurricanes completed a season series sweep against their Metropolitan Division rival, the New Jersey Devils. The last time they did so was during the 2023–24 season, although the series then consisted of only three games.

During the first period of play, things were close between the Hurricanes and Devils in terms of pressure and possession, but thanks to old-fashioned ‘fly the zone’ tactics a goal from Timo Meyer in the final minutes of the frame gave the Devils the lead.

This was a strategy they continued to implement throughout the game, making things difficult for the Hurricanes.

But, Carolina proved that rest is also a weapon once the rust is cleared, as they rebounded in the second frame – scoring not just one, but three goals throughout the period.

Nikolaj Ehlers was the first to score on the power play, followed by Jackson Blake on a goal in the slot, followed immediately by Jordan Staal’s great tip-in on a shot from Ehlers.

It was a great frame by Carolina offensively and defensively, as they limited the Devils to just five shots.

last twenty minutes

As they entered the third frame, with the game up 3–1, the Hurricanes continued to press forward offensively. Shayne Gostisbehere, who was in his first game back after missing nine consecutive games due to a lower body injury, scored the fourth goal for Carolina. However, less than 30 seconds later, he was given a rare charging penalty after a shoulder-to-shoulder hit on Evgeni Dadonov, who had the puck at the time of his commitment to the hit.

Nevertheless, Seth Jarvis found the back of an empty net during the penalty kill and scored his 30th goal of the season for the third consecutive season, becoming only the sixth player in franchise history to accomplish the feat.

Still, the Devils made do with what they had, and Dadonov managed to score a goal with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game – his first of the season.

Onward to the next game

As the game ended, Ehlers was given his first star of the game and he went to the bench for a quick interview with reporter Hannah Yates, discussing the game and goals, before capping it off with a simple statement:

“We have to go get some revenge tomorrow.”

The Montreal Canadiens, to whom he was referring, will be their next opponent after a 5-2 loss to them on Tuesday.

Rachel Barkley is a beat writer covering the Carolina Hurricanes for Carolina Hockey Now on SportsNut. Painting Stories…More About Rachel Barclay

The New Jersey Devils will have a travel day today, thus, you will not see any updates on the ice. Over the weekend, we engage in some business discussion as we look toward the end of the season and the summer.

The Devils could have a transformative offseason after a disappointing 2025-26 season, meaning we could see some major trades. More details on that in the link below.

Elsewhere, Carolina has its eye on Bob, an ex-Devils NHL development by now, and more.

PS I just wanted to take a moment to recognize Jesse Pierce and his family. What they are going through is devastating and my thoughts are with the family who is suffering. May he and his children rest in peace.

Devil’s Trade Rumors and News

New Jersey Hockey Now: Perhaps that’s why the Devils put Simon Nemec’s name up at the 2026 NHL trade deadline. New Jersey has “serious interest” in Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Nease, according to a report.

📺 devil’s rink report: On Friday, we invited Jack Phillips, co-host/producer of The Leafs Nation and The Sheet, to join us on the latest trade talks regarding Matthew Nease and the Devils’ reported “serious interest” in the show. Is it enough to get from Namek Neighbors to New Jersey? Jack and I reflected on the latest Devils Rink report.

Full episode here 👇🏼 Watch the full Devils Rink report here:

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Too! Devil’s Rink Report is now on TikTok – follow us here.

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Athletic ($): Here are the Devils’ top 13 prospects, as told by prospect guru Scott Wheeler.

NHL Trade Talk, News and National Hockey Now

athletic ($): With the Devils out of the playoff picture, what’s at stake for them the rest of the season?

Forever Blueshirts: Jonathan Quick is injured, so Igor Shesterkin will need some support. Dylan Garand made his NHL debut for the New York Rangers and looked “very impressive”.

Boston hockey now: The Boston Bruins are officially on the radar of James Hagens. Will his highly touted prospect turn professional, or will he return to Boston College next season?

san jose hockey now (+): If you’re interested in learning how an ex-Devils prospect is coming along as an NHLer, here’s an honest conversation with an NHL scout about San Jose Sharks defenseman Shakir Mukhamadulin.

Florida hockey now: Florida Panthers forward AJ Greer has received a three-game suspension from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for a tackle on Calgary Flames forward Connor Zary. In the third period of Friday’s game.

Carolina hockey now: Of course, that might not happen until the season is over, but the Carolina Hurricanes are reportedly interested in bringing in Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky if he can’t find a way to stay in Florida.

James is the fully certified New Jersey Devils beat reporter for New Jersey Hockey Now on SportsNote and … More about James Nicholls

When you need a clutch goal, rely on defensemen. A strange reality, but the Carolina Hurricanes have survived two games in a row.

The Hurricanes did not score a single natural goal during the entire match. Nonetheless, in a unique game full of individual achievements and accomplishments, they still defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4–3 in overtime.

One of those milestones hit the moment Taylor Hall stepped onto the ice. This was his 100th game as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes, after being traded in the old three-team Mikko Rantanen deal.

Dakota Joshua scored in the first period to put the Leafs up one, but that was all he wrote for the opening twenty minutes as both teams went back and forth with the puck.

The game came alive in the second period

Early in the second frame, Andrei Svechnikov and ex-Hurricane Max Domi collided at the Leafs’ blue line. Svechnikov, who was shaken up, was briefly attended to by head athletic trainer Doug Bennett before going to the bench and later to the locker room. However, he was able to return near the halfway point.

In the inning following Svechnikov’s injury, Eric Robinson took a high-stick to the face from Brandon Carlo – drawing some blood for a double minor. In the final seconds of a four-minute power play, Jordan Staal once again proved to be one of the best things to happen to Carolina this season, as he tipped in a shot by Seth Jarvis.

Afterwards, Robinson once again performed for his team and drew a hooking penalty from Troy Stecher on a breakaway. He was given a penalty shot opportunity – the first attempt in his NHL career – and proceeded to slip a nice short wrister past Josef Woll to give Carolina its first lead of the night.

However, that lead was short-lived. Just 72 seconds later, John Tavares made his way behind Brandon Bussey’s net and put the puck in through the five-hole.

In the final minutes of the second frame, Sean Walker was fouled in the penalty box for fouling Matthew Neese. However, Walker’s defensive partner was not satisfied with simply killing a penalty, and instead, took the puck down the ice for the first shorthanded goal of his NHL career.

It was the second consecutive game for Shorty to score for the Hurricanes.

The third period arrived, and with just a few minutes remaining, William Nylander scored a goal to force overtime.

three-on-three action

When overtime began, the game-winner came off the stick of a first-time player: Alexander Nikishin. The rookie defenseman had just come on the ice in place of Jakob Slavin because Jarvis had sent him off, but he didn’t have it for long. Skating quickly to the right face-off circle, he wasted no time – launching it through an accidental Leafs screen and past the Vols after just 41 seconds of play. It was not only the first overtime goal of Nikishin’s NHL career, but also his first game-winning goal. For the second consecutive game, the Hurricanes’ overtime game winner came from a defenseman.

The game marked an unusual pattern to victory, as all four of the Hurricanes’ goals did not come on five-on-fives. Instead, they were on the power play, in the form of penalty shots, shorthanded and three-on-three in overtime.

Rachel Barkley is a beat writer covering the Carolina Hurricanes for Carolina Hockey Now on SportsNote. Painting Stories…More About Rachel Barclay

The Carolina Hurricanes were particularly quiet on Friday, getting only one player, Nick Deslauriers, an hour before the deadline. However, by the final minutes of the deadline, it was noted that they were working with the New York Rangers in an effort to bring back Vincent Trocheck.old north state‘.

The deal had fallen through by three, and Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky soon joined the media, where he called the price too high for this season. Now, one of the top NHL insiders, Elliotte Friedman, has revealed that he may have heard about the heavy demand for Trocheck.

On Monday, Friedman joined Sportsnet’s The Fan Hockey Show to discuss his perspective on the trade deadline. One of the first topics they discussed was Rangers’ price tag for the 32-year-old centreman.

“I will say this, I talked to another team that was on Trocheck,” he said. “They told me the Rangers were looking for a first-rounder, a player off your roster, and a legitimate prospect. That was a lot, and they decided not to pay it.

“I heard that’s what was asked. I don’t know what Carolina was willing to do, but [Tulsky] Just said ‘Hey, this is too much for us’.”

Really Overpriced Trading Deadline

Realistically, a first-round pick, roster players and quality prospects aren’t a particularly high price for someone to fill the top-six center role. However, if the price tag for Carolina had remained the same as it was for the team referenced by Friedman, the Rangers may have been eyeing specific players or prospects that the Hurricanes were unwilling to part with.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi was the top name on the trade block, while Alexander Nikishin was rumored to be the name available at the right price: a superstar-level player with a good contract. With that in mind, Kotkaniemi would likely be the only roster player the Hurricanes would be willing to trade for Trocheck, and the Rangers would likely be considering other players instead.

Later on in the show, Friedman said he believed the Hurricanes looked at other players who could fill that role, but ultimately came up with nothing.

Many believed that Robert Thomas could have been a fit for Carolina, but Friedman also pointed out that if a deal had been attempted, the price the Buffalo Sabers would have paid the St. Louis Blues would have ‘devastated’ the Rochester Americans, adding that they would have had to trade for AHL vets to fill out their roster.

Considering what the Hurricanes had to lose, it seems like a conservative deadline approach may be better than it initially seemed.

Rachel Barkley is a beat writer covering the Carolina Hurricanes for Carolina Hockey Now on SportsNote. Painting Stories…More About Rachel Barclay

The Carolina Hurricanes had their quietest trade deadline since 2023, and maybe it was for the best.

It was an unusually quiet deadline day, although it didn’t have major deals across the league. John Carlson was traded from the Hurricanes’ Metropolitan Division rival, the Washington Capitals, to the Anaheim Ducks, while former Hurricanes captain Justin Faulk was sent from the St. Louis Blues to the Stanley Cup-contending Detroit Red Wings.

What trade did the Carolina Hurricanes make at the deadline?

An hour away from the deadline, the rumor and subsequent confirmation revealed that the Hurricanes were in the midst of a trade; They only have one day.

Nicolas Deslauriers, a renowned enforcer and grinder, was acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers for a conditional 2027 seventh-round draft pick. Interestingly, the condition for selection is that it will be transferred only if the Hurricanes win two rounds in the playoffs, and Deslauriers plays at least half the games in the postseason.

While Deslauriers was the only trade made by general manager Eric Tulsky, it was rumored that, in the final minutes of the deadline, the Hurricanes remained notably deep in talks with the New York Rangers to acquire former Hurricanes center Vincent Trocheck, who had become a target for Carolina earlier this week, as first reported on CHN. However, Rangers expressed a desire for more than the Hurricanes felt comfortable with forfeiting, and the deal ultimately fell through.

All four top centers on the market – Trocheck, Robert Thomas, Ryan O’Reilly, and Elias Pettersson – went untraded at the deadline.

Hurricane was a masterclass in ‘boring’ deadlines

Many may look at a quiet day for the Hurricanes front office and consider the deadline looming, but I beg to differ. It was a particularly slow day across the league, as several teams lower in the standings decided to sell just days before the deadline, causing turmoil in the market.

Prices were high, and Tulsky did well by being disciplined with assets – rather than spending more than he could on aging players.

In a recent article, CHN suggested that the Hurricanes should consider pursuing Chicago Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno to add to their physical upside.

Foundation? Getting a seasoned veteran who can help bridge the holes exposed in recent playoff campaigns, someone who can contribute a little bit ‘nasty’ For the storm game.

While Foligno was eventually traded to the Minnesota Wild to play alongside his brother Marcus, the Hurricanes managed to acquire an even more rowdy winger at an incredible price. Deslauriers is renowned as one of the top enforcers in the league, and holds the third-most penalties among active players, behind only Ryan Reaves and Tom Wilson.

Deslauriers could prove to be a diamond in the rough, supporting the overall flow of games in the Hurricanes’ direction. Contribution comes in more forms than just the scoresheet.

Rachel Barkley is a beat writer covering the Carolina Hurricanes for Carolina Hockey Now on SportsNote. Painting Stories…More About Rachel Barclay

The Dallas Mavericks are scheduled to face the Brooklyn Nets on the road Tuesday, but that could be up in the air. Following the team’s game against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday, the Mavericks stayed overnight in Indiana due to severe weather storms that hit the New York area. Although nothing has been announced yet regarding the games, Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg’s Jimmy Fallon Show appearance is in doubt.

Cooper Flagg was scheduled to appear on the Jimmy Fallon show on Monday night during the Mavericks’ visit to New York before their game against the Nets. But according to Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News, his appearance was canceled because the team could not travel to New York after the Pacers game.

It is currently unknown whether Flagg’s appearance on the show will be rescheduled. The Mavericks have already made their only trip to Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks, and this is their only trip to see the Nets.

In any case, Flagg’s pending appearance on the show is proof that he is one of the rising faces of the NBA. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft has been one of the frontrunners for the flag league’s Rookie of the Year award. His only competition is Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel.

Flagg is currently dealing with a foot injury, and has not played since the Mavericks season resumed after the All-Star break.

He has appeared in 49 games this season, a little over 34 minutes per game. Flagg averaged 20.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.2 steals, shooting 48.2 percent from the field, 30.2 percent from the field and 80.4 percent from the free-throw line.

The Mavericks are currently 20-36, and are in 12th place in the Western Conference standings. Their win against the Pacers on Sunday broke their 10-match losing streak.