Hurricanes hold off stubborn Senators. How Carolina pulled away in a 5-3 opening-night win
It was several hours before game time Wednesday and Sebastian Aho already was itching to get going, drop the puck, start the season.
“It’s very exciting,” the Carolina Hurricanes center said. “There’s no question what the end goal is here for us. We definitely have a chance to do something special with this group.
“Obviously, you can’t do that today. You just have to take care of this day. Hopefully we can start the right way.”
The Hurricanes did that in their season opener, taking a 5-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators in a packed PNC Arena.
Brady Skjei’s score at 7:51 of the third, after the Canes had lost a two-goal lead, made it a 4-3 game. The defenseman, who had 18 goals last season, blasted a shot from the left circle after a hustling Jordan Martinook swiped the puck in the Sens zone.
Defenseman Jaccob Slavin then struck shorthanded after a Brett Pesce penalty, taking a pass from Jesperi Kotkaniemi and beating goalie Joonas Korpisalo with a short-wide snipe.
Michael Bunting scored the Canes’ first goal of the season, on a second-period power play, and Teuvo Teravainen ripped a shot later in the period for a 2-1 lead. When captain Jordan Staal scored in the opening seconds of the third off a backhander, it was 3-1.
If the Sens were rattled, it didn’t show. Parker Kelly scored shorthanded, and Tim Stutzle soon followed with a goal — two in 35 seconds — as Ottawa tied it.
Canes goaltender Frederik Andersen allowed a first-period goal off a tip by the Sens’ Mathieu Joseph, then the rapid-fire goals by Kelly and Stutzle in the third. But he had his share of sparking pad and glove saves in the game.
It was opening night, with all the usual pomp and circumstance. The tailgaters were out early, the atmosphere expectant inside and outside PNC Arena and the pregame introductions loud and lively — especially the roars for Rod Brind’Amour, starting his sixth season as head coach.
Canes owner Tom Dundon sounded the warning siren, if quickly, and the game started well — for the Senators. They were the quicker team in the first 10 minutes of the game, outworking a team that prides itself on not being outworked.
The Canes, with a lineup of 11 forwards and seven defensemen, steadied in the final 10 minutes of the opening period, began applying the pressure and outshot the Sens 19-10 in the second. The forecheck was better, the passing better.
Bunting, in his first game for the Canes, gathered in a loose puck in front of Korpisalo and scored early in the second. Teravainen then took a sharp cross-ice pass from Martin Necas, caught Korpisalo out of position and buried his shot.
Staal took a pass from Jordan Martinook, kept the puck away from defenseman Thomas Chabot and got off a backhander that beat Korpisalo. Staal threw an uppercut after the goal as Canes fans showed their approval.
Many had hoped Andrei Svechnikov would be ready for opening night, but the Canes’ power forward will need a little more time to rehab his right knee.
“We kind of knew it may not be possible,” Canes president and general manager Don Waddell said Wednesday. “This isn’t a Rod or Don decision. It’s a doctor’s decision until his strength gets to where everybody is comfortable.”
With the start of the N.C. State Fair this week, the Hurricanes will take to the road for the next six games. The next home game: Oct. 26 against the Seattle Kraken.
