RALEIGH, N.C. - After more than 90 minutes of action, Jordan Martinook potted the double-overtime dagger to lift the Carolina Hurricanes to a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators in Game 2 of their first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series.
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While Monday's tilt didn't start with fisticuffs, Logan Stankoven was happy to provide the action in the early going. Minutes after swiping the puck off the Canes' goal line, the Game 1 star opened the scoring once again, slamming home a Taylor Hall setup on the power play at 6:31.
Boasting a healthy shot advantage through the first half of the contest, Carolina eventually capitalized once more to double its lead. Converting a 2-on-1 rush chance, Jordan Staal threaded the needle to Sebastian Aho for a back-door tap-in at 7:50 of the second period.
Three minutes later, though, the Senators found twine for the first time this postseason. That spark yielded a tying tally soon after, and provided momentum that enabled the visitors to hold the Canes at bay through the end of regulation time.
Close calls ensued for both clubs in the first overtime, but none closer than Mark Jankowski's would-be game-winner that was called back for the play being offside in the buildup. In an interesting twist, though, a penalty that was called amid the action still stood, resulting in a penalty shot for Martinook, but his attempt was answered by Ottawa's Linus Ullmark.
As the contest moved into the back half of a second overtime, the Canes' steady forechecking finally bore fruit. K'Andre Miller sent a pass from the blue line to Nikolaj Ehlers in the corner, who quickly curled and found Martinook alone in the high slot. And despite being stymied by Ullmark's glove on his earlier penalty shot, the Canes' alternate captain went back to the same spot, this time whistling a wrister off the post and in to seal the victory.
Back in the Carolina cage, Frederik Andersen stopped 37 of 39 shots as he got the nod for the second straight game.
