RALEIGH, N.C. -- For the better part of three hours Saturday, it was nearly impossible not to notice Jordan Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes.
Forget that he is 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, often towering above others on the ice. Rather, it is that he proved again he is a man made for these moments. Staal showed it repeatedly in the 2-0 win against the Ottawa Senators in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series at Lenovo Center.
Yes, the off-the-puck-drop donnybrook with Senators captain Brady Tkachuk will dominate the highlight reels and talk shows until Game 2 here Monday, but Staal’s fingerprints were everywhere in this white-knuckle affair between two teams that find identity in structure and in giving no quarter.
“He never ceases to keep impressing,” said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour, who has coached Staal in each of Carolina’s playoff runs over the past eight seasons. “He was obviously great tonight. It’s pretty much every night. When is he not doing his thing? I give him a lot of credit.”
Staal is maybe the biggest reason why the Hurricanes have the early upper hand in this series. Teams that win Game 1 of a best-of-7 series went 6-2 in the first round last season and are 535-252 (.680) in history.
It was clear on this day that Staal was going to be hard-matched against the Tkachuk line with Carolina at home.
Travis Green, the Ottawa coach, knew the match was coming and he knew it would be a challenge.
“He’s been in the League for a long time,” Green said. “He’s done this job for a while, he understands it and he is a good player.”
On the opening face-off, Staal was coming in to take the draw, Tkachuk was on the wing to his right, yapping. The puck was dropped and three seconds later, captain-on-captain crime was afoot.
Tkachuk has a penchant for firing up his teams with grand gestures.
Last season, while playing for Team USA in a round-robin game in the 4 Nations Face-Off against Team Canada in the openly rabid Bell Centre in Montreal, Brady Tkachuk and his brother Matthew, of the Florida Panthers, got into fights off consecutive face-offs to start that game.
This time, Tkachuk landed some early shots, but Staal rallied and scored with a shot of his own before wrestling Tkachuk to the ice.
“Physical guy, plays hard and he wanted to go,” Staal said. “It’s part of the gig. Obviously, those Tkachuk brothers, they play hard and physical and they play the style of game that is hard to play against and he is no different. It was an interesting start for sure.”
Staal, who rarely fights, says he couldn’t remember ever doing so off the opening whistle in an NHL game. He had to sit in the penalty box for five agonizing minutes, unable to control the game like he craves, serving penance for answering a challenge.
Upon release, Staal skated to his bench during a stoppage, sat down and was caught by a TV camera exhorting his team to give more.
Then, he led the way during the 55 minutes that followed.
Staal played 16:20 in the game. He played on the power play. He played 3:19 on a penalty kill that was 4-for-4, and he frustrated and flustered Tkachuk at every turn, helping to limit him to two shots. Staal countered with two shots, delivered four hits and went 10-of-18 on face-offs.
Frederik Andersen, the Carolina goalie, has seen this show before. He was asked if Saturday could serve as a sizzle reel for who Staal is in the postseason. The goalie, who made 22 saves, bristled at the suggestion that this performance was special.
“You have to look at every single game,” Andersen said. “He does it one way all the time and that is the right way. He’s very in tune with the way he is being asked to play. I think he executes that on a nightly basis, so it would be a disservice to say only tonight was his game.”
Forward Taylor Hall, who scored in the game Saturday, said that Staal is made for this time, pointing to the fact that he entered this season’s tournament with 162 games of playoff experience, seventh most among active players.
“Jordo, he’s played almost 200 playoff games, he knows what it’s about and he knows his game is made for this and doesn’t have to change a lot.”
When it was finished, Staal sat at his stall. He was asked if he enjoyed the mayhem to start the game and if he relished the work that goes into leaning on Tkachuk shift after shift.
“(Tkachuk) is an exceptional player, he plays hard,” Staal said, smiling. “Playoff hockey. Of course, I enjoy that. It’s a big challenge for our whole group to try to contain him. His physicality and what he does on the ice, he is hard to stop. We have to take that as a win tonight, but we have to continue to stay on him, give them nothing and make sure he isn’t as effective as he could be.”
Now, he knows he will have to do it again in 48 hours. And, who knows how many more times after that this spring.
“It’s something new every year and that is what I enjoy about the game,” Staal said. “Every year is different, every series is different, every play is different. I’m just glad I can keep contributing for this group.”
