"Captain Clutch Strikes Again": 2025-26 Regular Season, Game 56: Carolina Hurricanes vs. Ottawa Senators

For the final time before the Winter Games, the Carolina Hurricanes took the ice at the Lenovo Center, trying to get their point streak to nine games with another win over the Ottawa Senators. The Sens played last night, doing the Canes a favor by beating the Penguins, 3-2. Now, coming in on the second half of a back-to-back, they'll turn to former Hurricane James Reimer to put in a better effort than he did when the Canes visited Ottawa in January. The Canes have reverted to their old ways of blowing leads. It cost them on Saturday in D.C., but they picked up the second point in overtime on Sunday against the Kings. I'd much rather they get the job done in regulation without all of the theatrics.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

OTT (2:46)- Stephen Halliday (4) (Jordan Spence (15) & Lars Eller (7))

CAR (17:49)- Sebastian Aho (20) (K'Andre Miller (19))

2nd Period

CAR (12:39-PP)- Seth Jarvis (24) (Andrei Svechnikov (28) & Sebastian Aho (36))

CAR (15:41)- Seth Jarvis (25) (Sebastian Aho (37))

OTT (16:21-PP)- Tim Stutzle (27) (Jake Sanderson (35) & Dylan Cozens (24))

3rd Period

OTT (4:57-PP)- Jake Sanderson (11) (Drake Batherson (3) & Dylan Cozens (25))

CAR (14:53)- Jordan Staal (14) (Nikolaj Ehlers (28))

My Thoughts

I don't think I'm re-inventing the wheel by asserting that the Senators were the better team when these two met in Ottawa. The Canes capitalized when they had chances, winning that game, 4-1. Tonight, the Senators were the better team for long stretches of this game, especially early. They got the first goal, and they had control. Slowly, the Canes started to get into the game. When the Canes took a 3-1 lead, the Senators turned it up again. Their power play scored twice, and they appeared poised to get at least one point. However, as they did in Ottawa, the Canes caught the Senators trying to make a line change at the wrong time. Instead of getting something out of this game, the Senators failed to pick up a point, with every one pivotal for them at this point. 

A big reason for the Senators' folly was the dynamic duo of Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis. Aho opened the scoring for the Canes, getting his 20th goal of the season off Jake Sanderson's skate. Then, Jarvis struck twice in a little over three minutes. Andrei Svechnikov made a great pass into the slot to find Jarvis for a top-shelf snipe. Jarvis blew past Sanderson to get his second goal, flying down the wing and skating into a pass from Aho before a light touch past James Reimer to double the Canes' advantage. The should-be Olympian made the Olympian look pretty bad. Aho finished with three points to improve to better than a point-per-game, while Jarvis extended his lead for the most goals on the team and put 30 goals even closer to his reach.

For all of the effort put forth by the top line tonight, it was Jordan Staal who played the hero late in the contest. Tied at three, Nikolaj Ehlers caught the Senators at the bench by springing the captain for the breakaway. Mano a mano with Reimer, Staal put it perfectly in the corner over his glove to the game-winner. The goal was his 14th of the season, officially surpassing his total from last season. It has been an incredible season for the captain. A recent stretch of four goals in six games has him on pace for a 20-goal campaign, and it's time to start talking about his chances of competing for the Selke Trophy as the top defensive forward. He has been a pivotal part of the recent resurgence of the power play, winning the draw that led to Jarvis's first goal. Most importantly, he is scoring in big moments. Look no further than his game-winner against Utah a few games ago.

At the heart of it all was Brandon Bussi. He has Ottawa's number this season. They scored two more times in their second go-around, and one of them he'd probably like back, but it was also a night full of incredible stops for the Bus Driver. He started the flashiness early by recovering from a turnover to rob Nick Cousins. He added another big stop on Tim Stutzle in the second. His save on Drake Batherson immediately led to Jarvis's second goal. To close the night, he toe-picked and made a nice two-pad stack stop in the final minute. There were a few more throughout the night, but those were the big ones. He has won his last six starts, and he's up to 22 wins in 26 starts in what will likely be his last start before the pause. There's a chance he goes against the Rangers to ensure Frederik Andersen remains healthy for Denmark before the Olympics, so we'll have to stay tuned for that. 

First Star of the Game: Seth Jarvis

I think there is a good case to be made for several players tonight, but I'm going with Seth Jarvis. His goals tonight were massive, especially in getting the Canes out in front in the second period. While they did blow the lead, it felt like a little vindication after a tough game on Sunday. He finished his chances. Jarvis also had a big block during the team's only successful kill in the second period.

Next Up: One game separates most of the team from a three-week break. The Canes head to New York City for their final meeting with the Rangers on Thursday night. Aho, Slavin, Ehlers, and Andersen will head to Italy for the Olympics, while the rest of the group won't play until after the break, when the Canes host the Lightning and the Red Wings at the Lenovo Center.