Jordan Martinook notched the game-winner in double overtime to lead the Carolina Hurricanes to a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Monday night at the Lenovo Center. The win gives Carolina a 2-0 lead in this playoff series and allows them to keep their home ice advantage.
The Canes thought they had won the game in the first overtime when Mark Jankowski ripped in a goal, but after a long review, it was determined that Jordan Staal was offsides on the play because the desk in Toronto determined that he did
not have control of the puck when he crossed the blueline.
Staal was not happy with the controversial call and said post game that he looked to pass the puck to Martinook, he did not feel like he lost possession or control. Poor Mark Jankowski said that he was on cloud nine for about two minutes when he celebrated his supposed goal.
Martinook had been the victim of a penalty earlier and weirdly enough, was awarded a penalty shot after the offsides decision. He missed the shot so he was certainly looking for redemption afterward and eventually got it.
When asked after the game how difficult was it to recover after celebrating and thinking you had won the game, to settling back down to the business and seriousness of playing hockey, “Try shooting a penalty shot right after that!” Martinook quipped.
The game started off with fast skating and hitting for both teams. The Canes took the lead off another goal by Logan Stankoven, who has been red hot since the Olympic break. He got a perfect pass by Taylor Hall, who set him up on the powerplay.
In the second period, the Hurricanes jumped to a 2-0 lead when Jordan Staal led Sebastian Aho, who made no mistake. This was a shorthanded goal for Carolina, who leads the league with shorties.
The Sens would strike back though with two goals of their own. Ottawa came close to scoring several times but had the worse luck as the puck either hit the crossbar or post or stopped just short of the goal line. Fred Andersen let in a goal he wished he didn’t on goal number two, but he was scrambling and played very well afterward, especially in the overtime periods. In all, he made 37 saves on 39 shots.
Linus Ullmark played lights out in his own right, making several high level saves throughout. He made 43 saves on 46 Carolina shots.
It is late so I’m going to wrap this up and choose a “Player of the Game” later. The Canes will take Tuesday off before a practice on Wednesday and a flight to Ottawa.
Game Summary – https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20252026/GS030132.HTM
Event Summary – https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20252026/ES030132.HTM
Interviews –
