Hurricanes play to their identity in Game 3 win of Eastern 1st Round

OTTAWA -- The party was on at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday.

The locals were amped, sent into a towel-waving frenzy after a national anthem set from the legendary Lyndon Slewidge.

But, it wasn’t enough to propel the Ottawa Senators back into their Eastern Conference First Round series against the Carolina Hurricanes, losing 2-1 in Game 3.

It’s a loss that puts the Senators on life support, down 3-0 in the best-of-7 series, a predicament only four teams (out of 213) have escaped in the history of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“I don’t expect us to quit,” Ottawa coach Travis Green said. “We’re not that type of team.”

No, the Senators aren’t. They are proud and talented and entered the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in the League. A 16-5-4 run to close the season helped them leapfrog five teams and claim the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Their reward?

The Eastern Conference champion Hurricanes, who are trying to put to bed the narrative about not being ready for playoff success. Carolina has been to the postseason each of the past eight seasons, flaming out each spring because an opponent understood the assignment better.

Now, it is the Hurricanes who are showing they could be that team this time.

Game 3 in any series is dangerous; lose and you give an opponent life. The crowd is jacked up for the third game, understanding that it can determine the fate of a series, of a season.

The Hurricanes were having none of that. They played to their identity, turning in a low-event game, suffocating the opposition’s best players and surviving the hairy moments that are part and parcel of this thrill ride.

“That’s how you want to play on the road in the playoffs,” said Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour, who has presided over all eight recent playoff runs. “The start was important and then we played hard the rest of the night. Everybody contributed and we just got it done.”

Ah, the start.

Nothing happened and it was beautiful for the visitors.

The crowd cheered for a few big hits Ottawa delivered and the occasional shot, but the Senators couldn’t establish the cycle. The Hurricanes had Ottawa on its back foot.

Then, Carolina landed the first telling blow.

Logan Stankoven scored at 5:13 of the first period for the 1-0 lead.

Who else? Stankoven has opened the scoring in each of the three games.

The beauty in this goal was the details.

Ottawa was on the attack and Carolina forward Eric Robinson couldn’t make a change. Instead, he stepped in front of the puck as the Senators entered the zone, the puck clattering out of harm’s way. Eventually, Stankoven claimed it and started up ice. Robinson went with him.

“I was out there with (Taylor Hall) and ‘Stanks’ and they are special players, skill guys,” Robinson said. “So, I’m just trying to make space for them.”

Robinson’s decision forced the defender to make a choice, giving Stankoven the opportunity to get off a shot that beat Linus Ullmark.

“I think there are a lot of different things that happen in a game,” Stankoven said. “Just different details that allow guys to put the puck in the net. It’s nice when you are able to contribute, but a lot of guys do little things to create those goals and that is what we need.”

The devil wasn’t in the details for these Hurricanes. The details delivered nirvana and a stranglehold on the series that was expected by many to go the distance.

Nursing a 1-0 lead in the second period, Carolina made a series of mistakes, getting caught with too many on the ice at 9:23, getting too aggressive trying to change while on a cycle in the Ottawa zone. Thirty-two seconds later, defenseman Jalen Chatfield took a hooking penalty to give the Senators a 5-on-3.

For the next 88 seconds, Jordan Staal, Jaccob Slavin and Sean Walker survived, keeping the Senators to the perimeter, forcing them into mistakes. Not allowing a shot.

The crowd, momentarily brought to life, slumped. 

“One-twenty-eight; that’s not easy,” Hall said.

Those were two of five penalties the Hurricanes killed in the game. They have yet to allow a power-play goal in this series.

“I think that’s the difference-maker in the game,” Slavin said. “We give up one there and it’s a different game.”

They gave up one later.

Drake Batherson scored at 16:06 of the second, roofing a backhander over Frederik Andersen after a turnover by the Hurricanes.

The crowd was rising again, willing the home team to take its first lead of the series, mocking the Carolina goalie.

Did the Hurricanes buckle?

Nope.

Jackson Blake scored on the next shot of the game at 17:29, punctuating a perfect passing play from Hall and K'Andre Miller and delivering a staggering punch.

“It was huge,” Slavin said of the goal. “Any time you score a goal, but right after they scored and maybe get some momentum on their side and come up with that goal, it’s huge. 

“We just kept the stress game on them. That’s what we are good at and what we have to keep doing.”

The Hurricanes rode out the third period, never letting the building come to life again. Andersen finished with 21 saves and a third straight win. He has allowed three goals in three games.

“We will take the win,” the goalie said. “I think we grinded it a lot. Think we did a good job. On the PK, sometimes you need that. It’s good when there are uneventful periods like the third. We kept grinding them down and not really giving them too much.”

Now, the Hurricanes are one win away from a date in the second round. It could come in Game 4 here Saturday (3:00 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN, TBS, truTV, FDSNSO, HBO MAX).

Carolina will be ready.

“Those are games that are tight and you have to win them if you want to take the series,” Hall said. “We are feeling good about ourselves but that hardest one is the fourth one.”