"3 Pillars of Success": 2025-26 Postseason Round 1, Game 3: Carolina Hurricanes at Ottawa Senators

There's a change of venue for the next two games, but the job for the Carolina Hurricanes remains the same. They have a 2-0 series lead over the Ottawa Senators, but two wins won't earn you a series victory. Four wins will. They have five chances to win two games, and it starts tonight in Ottawa. The Canes seem content with the way things have been, leading to no changes with their lineup, including a third-straight start for Frederik Andersen. Ottawa seems poised to get a boost with the return of Tyler Kleven. They're also shaking up their lines a little after scoring just twice in the first two games of the series. It'll be on the Canes to handle these changes and the rowdy Ottawa crowd to keep their momentum rolling from Monday night.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

CAR (5:13)- Logan Stankoven (3) (Taylor Hall (3) & Eric Robinson (1))

2nd Period

OTT (16:06)- Drake Batherson (2) (Nick Cousins (1))

CAR (17:29)- Jackson Blake (1) (K'Andre Miller (2) & Taylor Hall (4))

3rd Period

None

My Thoughts

The Carolina Hurricanes have pushed the Ottawa Senators to the edge of elimination after another excellent defensive effort. This time, they took their suffocating pressure north of the border, and it was arguably their best of the series, to this point. The Senators had good moments, but even when they tied the game late in the second period, their momentum was immediately snatched by the second line. More on them in a bit. A 5-for-5 performance from the Canes' penalty kill played a big part in that. This included nearly 90 seconds of a 5-on-3 chance while it was still 1-0 in the second. Once again, Ottawa averaged less than one shot per power play, finishing with four shots on five chances. It's hard to win games like that, let alone playoff games.

I won't pretend that the Hurricanes played a flawless game. Offensively, they remained pretty pedestrian at times. That goes for everyone but the second line, who, once again, scored all of the goals for the Canes tonight. Logan Stankoven opened the scoring for the third straight game, burying a one-timer. Then, after Ottawa tied it, Jackson Blake scored the go-ahead goal late in the second, just 83 seconds after the Senators broke the shutout. A lot of credit for that goal belongs to K'Andre Miller. He faked the entire building out, including Linus Ullmark, allowing the seam to open up and giving Blake a wide-open net to shoot into. Taylor Hall assisted on both goals, bringing that line's point total to 13 points in the series, led by Hall's five. The rest of the team needs to join the offense needs to take a page from their book.

Frederik Andersen won Game 2, but it felt like Ullmark was the better goalie on Monday. I didn't feel the same tonight. The goalies deserve no grief for the three goals scored tonight, with Ullmark largely left out to dry on both Carolina tallies. Neither goalie was forced to make a Save of the Postseason candidate tonight. Instead, it was a pretty standard contest for both. However, Andersen looked incredibly calm and collected throughout the night. He faced only 22 shots and turned away 21 of them. For the third game in a row, Andersen earned the win, and it was a win well-earned.

The Hurricanes now lead the series 3-0. They are on the verge of advancing to the second round. However, they haven't done it yet. The fourth game is, famously, the toughest game to win. Fortunately, the Canes have afforded themselves four chances to get the job done. I would appreciate it if they finished this one in short order, but the Senators will come back with their best punch on Saturday afternoon. One thing to watch will be Jake Sanderson's status. He exited in the second period after taking a high hit from Taylor Hall, which Travis Green directly attributed to his exit. With Artem Zub already out and his status unclear, the Senators are fighting an uphill battle, but their fight is far from over.

First Star of the Game: Taylor Hall

There is no shortage of players to pick from tonight, but there was so much about Taylor Hall's game that I liked. For starters, he assisted on both goals, making him the only player with multiple points. Hall was the driver of the opening goal, following the puck twice after having his shot stopped and his pass blocked. He found Stankoven for the one-timer to get it rolling. On the second goal, Hall fanned on his initial pass, but he didn't panic. He bounced off a "check" from Stutzle to find Miller, and Miller did the rest. 

Around the League

Pittsburgh-Philadelphia: The Flyers have a stranglehold on the series, coming home and earning a 4-2 win in Game 3 to take a commanding lead. (PHI 3-0)

Buffalo-Boston: Playing on the road for the first time in the series, the Sabres bounced back in a big way, getting an outstanding performance from Noah Ostlund in his debut to retake the series lead. (BUF 2-1)

Tampa Bay-Montreal: After dropping the opening game at home, the Bolts responded with an overtime win on JJ Moser's snipe to knot the series as it heads to Montreal. (Tied 1-1)

Next Up: Every game from here is an elimination game for the Senators, beginning on Saturday afternoon in Game 4. If the Senators stave off elimination, the series heads back to Raleigh on Monday night.