The Hurricanes Pull Away in the Third Period as They Decimate the Senators in Ottawa

The Carolina Hurricanes were in the Canadian capital on Sunday night to complete a tough weekend back-to-back against the Ottawa Senators. Less than 24 hours prior, the Canes completed a huge comeback in Toronto behind two late goals by Sebastian Aho and a shootout winner by Jake Guentzel in a 5-4 victory. Though pretty much out of the playoff race, the Senators entered the game on a three-game win streak.

After Pyotr Kochetkov played in Toronto, Frederik Andersen was in the net for the Hurricanes, coming off a 4-0 shutout win over Florida on Thursday. The rest of the lineup remained the same as Teuvo Teravainen missed his second straight game. Ottawa also played on Saturday, winning 4-3 in overtime on Long Island. With Joonas Korpisalo playing against the Islanders, former Hurricane Anton Forsberg was in the net for the Senators.

The Hurricanes came out of the gate hot, but an early Brendan Lemieux penalty in the offensive zone gave Ottawa a chance to swing momentum in their favor. Instead, the kill not only held the Senators off the board, Lemieux came out of the box to spring Dmitry Orlov on a breakaway. Orlov snapped one over the glove of Anton Forsberg to get the Canes ahead early. Before the end of the period, Ottawa would get the goal back. Thomas Chabot, who was making his return after missing five games, snapped one perfectly over Frederik Andersen's shoulder to even it up.

Andrei Svechnikov drew a penalty as time expired before the first intermission, giving the Canes a full power play to start the second period. Svechnikov would draw another penalty 41 seconds into the period to put the Canes on an extended 5-on-3. Ottawa killed the first penalty, but Evgeny Kuznetsov snapped one from the left dot past Anton Forsberg during the second penalty to put the Canes back ahead.

This newfound lead wouldn't last very long. Tim Stutzle made a great individual play, toe-dragging around Jalen Chatfield before snapping one off the right post and into the net to tie the game 2:48 later. The 2-2 tie remained in place for most of the middle frame, but the Hurricanes would find a late goal, just like they did in Toronto. The play was really made by Sebastian Aho, finding Seth Jarvis with a great cross-seam pass to set up his linemate for a goal with 22 seconds left.

The momentum created by the late goal carried into the third period because the Hurricanes' offense exploded. Just under five minutes into the period, Jalen Chatfield snapped one from deep that beat Anton Forsberg under the glove to give the Canes their first two-goal lead of the night. Less than three minutes later, Dmitry Orlov added his second of the night, slapping one off the left post to signal that the beatdown was on.

Jake Guentzel joined the fun, scoring his first as a Hurricane less than two minutes later. Sebastian Aho picked up his third assist of the night by hitting Guentzel with a beautiful stretch pass before he finished it on a breakaway. The final nail in the coffin came from Brendan Lemieux. After Brent Burns released one from the point, Lemieux redirected the shot past a screened Forsberg to get the Hurricanes' seventh of the night. The Canes completed their Ontario trip with a 7-2 victory, hitting 90 points for the third straight season.

The final score would suggest otherwise, but this game was very tight for 40 minutes. Every time the Hurricanes tried to separate from the Senators, Ottawa would respond. The difference was Seth Jarvis' late goal in the second period. Who knows how differently this game could've ended up if things were tied after 40 minutes? Instead, the Canes went into the third period with a lead and poured it on.

Dmitry Orlov and Jalen Chatfield are playing their best hockey of the season right now. It's easy to say that after Orlov had four points and Chatfield had two, but the numbers back it up. Orlov has points in three straight games after picking up five points during this weekend's back-to-back, and Chatfield has seven points in his last eight games. They continue to be the Hurricanes' most consistent defensive duo.

Not to be outdone, the Hurricanes' newest members have firmly entrenched themselves in this team's identity. Both Jake Guentzel and Evgeny Kuznetsov have points in three straight games, with Guentzel putting up back-to-back multi-point games this weekend. Sebastian Aho recorded back-to-back three-point nights. Even Brendan Lemieux made a big impact, bookending the night with an assist on the first goal and scoring the last one. All 18 skaters got the job done in Ottawa, making this an enjoyable weekend for the Caniacs.

Since returning from his medical emergency, Frederik Andersen hasn't missed a step. His 30-save performance against the Senators makes him 4-0-0 in his return to action and 8-1-0 this season. He has only allowed five goals in his four starts, allowing no more than two goals in any of them. Along with Pyotr Kochetkov and Spencer Martin, the Hurricanes have established a three-man unit that I'd be willing to put up against any team in the league.

Ensuring a winning road trip with the win in Ottawa, the Hurricanes will make one last stop on this journey. On Tuesday night, they'll be on Long Island to face the New York Islanders. The road team has won all three meetings between the two this season, all of which have been decided by one goal. The next home game will come on Thursday night when the Canes host the Philadelphia Flyers.