The Carolina Hurricanes own a 3-0 series lead over the Ottawa Senators in the first round after holding on for a 2-1 victory on Thursday night. The game featured many of the same stories. Frederik Andersen was excellent once again. The Canes' penalty kill went 5-for-5. The Stankoven line did all of the scoring. Unfortunately, it featured another negative for the Senators.
During the second period, Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson was caught by a high hit from Taylor Hall. In response, Sanderson gave Hall a jab, though Hall received the only penalty on the play, sitting for two minutes for an illegal hit to the head. The Canes successfully killed the infraction, their second of five in the middle frame.
Sanderson played two more shifts after the hit, including a long shift with the Senators on the power play once more, but he departed down the tunnel to the locker room halfway through the period, and he was eventually ruled out for the remainder of the contest during the third after he didn't return. He finished the night having played 13:19.
After the game, Ottawa head coach Travis Green was to the point about why Sanderson left the game. Green pointed directly to the hit from Hall as the culprit, calling it a "blatant hit to the head" and questioning why there wasn't a five-minute major called on the play. He shrugged off the idea of it being related to a blocked shot he took shortly after the hit, doubling down on the hit as the reason.
It's important to mention that there was a major penalty review during the game, coming in the third period after Brady Tkachuk caught Jordan Martinook in the neutral zone. It initially looked like he chicken-winged Martinook, but it may have been a stick to the gut. The officials reviewed it and downgraded it to a minor penalty for interference, which I felt was the correct call.
Hall, who recorded assists on both of Carolina's goals in the win, appeared apologetic after the game. He called the contact with Sanderson "accidental" and that he never intended to hurt Sanderson on the play. Hall doesn't have a history of malicious hits like this, so I don't suspect anything more will come from it.
As we await clarity on the severity of Sanderson's injury, this has the potential to be a major loss for the Senators, who are already down Artem Zub in the series after he exited Game 1. He recorded two helpers in Ottawa's Game 2 loss and has played a ton in this series. The issue is compounded by the Senators' current spot in the series, as they play to extend their season with each subsequent game.
Obviously, the Ottawa head coach is sticking up for his players, and I understand where he's coming from. In a series where the officiating has been anything but great, Green's frustrations are noted. That being said, if he expects this to lead to anything more, he's probably barking up the wrong tree. If he's trying to motivate his troops, we'll see how they respond on Saturday afternoon.
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