Hurricanes beat Senators in OT to earn two points, maintain Metro Division lead
No one likes overtime quite like Martin Necas of the Carolina Hurricanes.
Get a game into OT, go three-on-three, open up the ice and the Canes’ winger is quickly in his comfort zone.
It shows. Necas picked up his fourth overtime winner of the season Tuesday as the Hurricanes held off the Ottawa Senators 3-2 at PNC Arena.
In the final minute of the OT, the Canes’ Seth Jarvis carried the puck into the Sens’ zone, dropped it off to Necas and watched as Necas drilled a shot past rookie goalie Leevi Merilainen with 40 seconds left.
“His skill set is uniquely crafted for open ice,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “He’s got a lot of speed and he’s got a good shot, so you give him more room, and he can wind it up … He’s got a flair for the dramatic, that’s for sure.”
The Canes (50-18-9), with a third straight win, maintained their three-point lead over the New Jersey Devils in the Metropolitan Division — the Devils beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1.
The victory came after the Canes let a two-goal lead slip away and failed to score on a lengthy 5-on-3 power play, which sapped some energy out of the building but not out of a team that knows how to keep its cool and win.
Canes goalie Antti Raanta, who has not lost a game since mid-November, had 26 saves in a game in which he also weathered a few hard collisions in net. The veteran has gone 15-0-2 in his last 17 decisions and his 17-game point streak extends his franchise record.
Brady Skjei and Jesperi Kotkaniemi each had a goal and assist, Skjei’s 18th of the season tying the single-season record for a Canes D-man set by Dougie Hamilton.
What is it about Necas and overtime? He has seven career winners.
“Three on three and a lot of open ice, you can show off your speed and skill and he has a ton of that.” Skjei said of Necas, whose four OT winners this season lead the NHL. “It’s not a secret why he’s so dynamic in that situation. He’s just an elite, skilled hockey player who is clutch for us.”
Two of Necas’ winners this season have come against the Dallas Stars. A third came against the San Jose Sharks. Now, a fourth.
Necas nearly won it earlier in the overtime Tuesday, missing on a wraparound when the puck slipped off his stick, through Merilainen’s pads and through the crease.
“But as Roddy says, it’s all about your next shift,” Necas said.
Necas had put in a shift that lasted 1:41 and left him “gassed,” he said — momentarily.
“Those guys seem to miraculously get their wind back in overtime because they want to get back out there,” Brind’Amour said.
Kotkaniemi had the Canes’ first goal, redirecting a Skjei point shot, and Skjei scored near the end of a four-minute power play. Skjei, turning into something of a sniper, collected a loose puck between the circles and beat Merilainen.
Sens coach D.J. Smith challenged the Skjei goal, claiming Kotkaniemi touched the puck with a high stick 40 seconds before Skeji’s score. But after a lengthy review, the goal stood.
The Senators (37-34-7) got goals from Claude Giroux in the second period and then tied it 2-2 on Brady Tkachuk’s power-play score in the third after Ottawa killed off 1:50 of the Canes’ two-man advantage.
Merilainen, another Finnish goalie, faced 37 shots in his first NHL game. The 20-year-old made some big stops and stayed calm, causing Smith to say, “He’s years ahead of himself.”
The Canes held the puck much of the overtime. Just when it seemed it would take a shootout to decide it, Necas decided it after the pass from Jarvis.
“Jarvy made a great play to him and it was a great shot,” Brind’Amour said.
