Entering the day, all the Carolina Hurricanes needed was one point to wrap up the Metropolitan Division and check the next box before the playoffs begin. The Canes dominated the Islanders in every area except the scoreboard, outshooting their visitors 40-16 but only beating them 4-3. Seth Jarvis scored twice and added an assist in a game that ultimately cost Patrick Roy his job.
The Hurricanes started resting players today, giving Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook the evening off. This brought Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Nicolas Deslauriers back into the lineup. Frederik Andersen was in the net for the Canes. Linus Ullmark, much like Ilya Sorokin yesterday, pulled double duty for the Senators after playing on Saturday in a 4-1 losing effort to Minnesota.
The power play got right back to it to open the scoring. After failing to get one on Saturday, Logan Stankoven was on the spot to deposit a rebound. Dylan Cozens did the same for the Senators when they got a chance, tying it less than two minutes later. Tim Stutzle displayed his incredible skill by speeding past the defense and tucking one around Andersen to give Ottawa the lead in short order.
Before the end of the period, Andrei Svechnikov was in the right place to disrupt an attempted cover by Ullmark. As his defense was working it back to him, Svechnikov prevented it with his stick before sliding it over the line. Tied at two after 20 minutes, the Senators came out and scored the only goal of the second on a beautiful tip by Brady Tkachuk, giving Ottawa the lead after two periods.
The lead only grew for the Senators in the third. Shane Pinto buried another power-play tally for the group early in the frame, and Tkachuk followed Ridly Greig's chance for an easy tap-in to score his second of the night. Taylor Hall got his milestone moment late in the third, sliding a rebound around Ullmark for his 300th goal, but Claude Giroux put it into the empty net to finish a 6-3 Ottawa win.
Ottawa was two steps faster the entire game
The schedule situation for the Hurricanes wasn't ideal. They were playing the second half of a back-to-back with travel and a start less than 24 hours after last night's 7 pm start in Raleigh. Now, Ottawa was also playing the second half, but their start on Saturday was at 1 pm, so they had a little more time. Even if things were the same for both teams, I'm not sure anything would be different.
Never was this fact more evident than on Tim Stutzle's goal in the first period. He stole the puck and accelerated through the defense. The Canes consistently lost races to the crease tonight, allowing Ottawa the first crack at a rebound when it was available. It put Frederik Andersen in a tough spot, and the scoreboard certainly reflected it.
Still, there is plenty to celebrate for the Canes tonight in a losing effort
I don't think it's worthwhile to dwell on this loss because it's really not that big of a deal. Plus, we still have some cool moments to talk about. We opened the night with Nikolaj Ehlers earning the primary assist on Logan Stankoven's goal, officially giving Ehlers his 65th point to set a new career high. Andrei Svechnikov is one goal away from his second 30-goal campaign with another goal tonight.
At the end of the night, knowing the result we were about to see, Taylor Hall finally got his 300th goal following game after game of great chances to finally get it. Sean Walker picked up the primary assist on the goal, notching the 100th helper of his career. Jackson Blake got the secondary assist, making him the only Hurricane with multiple points with a pair of helpers tonight.
Additional Thoughts
It's clear that the penalty kill really missed Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook today. I'm not saying they prevent Ottawa's two goals, but they probably would've had a better chance of winning the draw and getting the puck out quicker. I give the Senators' power play a ton of credit for keeping pucks in the zone and being persistent.
With Pittsburgh's second regulation win over the Panthers in as many days, the Canes weren't able to wrap up the division just yet. They'll have a chance to do it on Tuesday, while the Penguins aren't in action again until Thursday. Ottawa's win allowed them to re-enter the second Wild Card spot, knocking the Islanders below the line after the Flyers also won today.
Up Next: The Carolina Hurricanes play their final home game of the regular season on Tuesday night, welcoming the Boston Bruins for what could become a first-round preview, if the Canes aren't #1 in the East. The team heads out on a season-ending four-game trip after that. They start in Chicago on Thursday before heading to Utah on Saturday.