"Bussi Night in Canada": 2025-26 Regular Season, Game 52: Carolina Hurricanes at Ottawa Senators

There's a storm outside, but the Carolina Hurricanes hoped to create a storm of their own when they took the ice in Ottawa for the first of two pre-Olympic meetings with the Senators. Tonight's contest took place in what was expected to be one of the coldest provinces on the continent, as Winter Storm Fern makes her presence felt. Inside the barn, the Canes tried to get back on the winning side, entering the night with points in four straight contests (3-0-1). Brandon Bussi was looking to build off another excellent start against the Sabres, while the offense needed to find a way to play from in front against a team struggling to stay in the hunt in the Atlantic Division.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

CAR (3:53)- William Carrier (6) (Mark Jankowski (7) & Jalen Chatfield (10))

CAR (5:36)- Seth Jarvis (23) (Alexander Nikishin (15) & Andrei Svechnikov (26))

CAR (18:43)- Taylor Hall (12) (Jackson Blake (15) & Jalen Chatfield (11))

2nd Period

CAR (9:29-PP)- Andrei Svechnikov (18) (Nikolaj Ehlers (26) & Seth Jarvis (16))

OTT (12:11)- Tim Stutzle (23) (Jake Sanderson (31) & Claude Giroux (27))

3rd Period

None

My Thoughts

Tonight was a perfect example of the expression "they don't ask how, they ask how many," because the Carolina Hurricanes didn't play a very good game. Everything we're used to seeing them do to their opponents was done to them. The Senators outshot them, spent more time in their zone, and won way more face-offs than them. The difference was the man in the net. It's not often you see the Hurricanes have a -12 shot differential in a period, let alone the -6 they were in the first period. I'm not sure if it was more about how well Ottawa was playing or how poorly the Canes played at points. Frankly, I think it was the former because the Senators played with some good pace and spent long stretches in front of Brandon Bussi. Still, they came out of Ottawa with two points, so we'll just leave it alone.

The shining moments were few and far between for the Hurricanes, but the big differences came at the beginning and the end of the first period. They had a power play to open the game that would've put the average fan to sleep. However, they responded well, thanks to a bad line change. Thomas Chabot picked the wrong time to go to the bench. It allowed Mark Jankowski and William Carrier a chance to break in, with the former feeding the latter to open the scoring. Just over 90 seconds later, it was a battle along the boards and a beautiful saucer pass from Alexander Nikishin, which helped Seth Jarvis to score the next one. All of a sudden, the Canes had a 2-0 lead in only 5:36. The Senators played very well for the next 13 minutes, failing to score a goal, which proved costly. Taylor Hall's goal late in the first period wasn't pretty, using a screen by Chabot to get it under James Reimer. It was a stoppable goal. The fourth, and final, goal on the power play was just bad luck. Andrei Svechnikov hoped for a bounce, and he got it. That was pretty much all it took.

If there was one player who got off the bus ready to go tonight, it was Brandon Bussi. When Ottawa started to take over the game after the second goal, Bussi was there to stop them in their tracks. When they ran circles around the Canes in the third period, Bussi was on the spot to prevent them from cutting further into the lead. He faced 15 shots in the final frame, and he stopped all of them. His 35 saves are his second-most this season, and the most he's had in a victory. Bussi didn't make a save quite as stellar as he did against the Sabres on Monday, though his pad save on Tim Stutzle in the third period was vaguely reminiscent of the one he made on Tage Thompson. He stole the show once more, continuing to show why he is the best story in the NHL.

With four days between now and their next game against the Utah Mammoth on Thursday, there is plenty for the Hurricanes to work on. Their power play needs some revitalization after two lackluster games. While they scored tonight, it was a fluky 5-on-3 goal that shouldn't have gone in. They'll also have to decide what to do about the net on Thursday, especially with a weekend back-to-back. Personally, I'd lean toward starting Frederik Andersen against Utah to give Bussi the first half of the twin bill against Washington. Honestly, with as well as they have played recently, I don't think there's a wrong choice to be made. The Hurricanes are in an excellent spot. They sit eight points clear of Pittsburgh and ten ahead of the Islanders. Not much to complain about in Raleigh.

First Star of the Game: Jalen Chatfield

At some point, you need to talk about someone other than Brandon Bussi, so I'll talk about Jalen Chatfield, who had an excellent night in his own right. Chatfield provided the secondary helpers on Jankowski's and Hall's goals, though his stretch pass on the opening goal was the most important part of it. He nearly had a third point in the first period, hitting the post short-handed. Chatfield led all Hurricanes in ice time tonight, playing 24:20. 

Next Up: The Canes don't play again until Thursday night, giving us all a nice breather ahead of their final five games before the Olympics. Thursday night is Whalers Night against the Mammoth. Then, they'll worry about a back-to-back against the Capitals and the Kings on Saturday and Sunday. These same two teams will meet in Raleigh on February 3rd. The Canes close it out at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers.