Hurricanes take Game One Fight against Senators 2-0

Q: What was the final score of the Hurricanes vs Senators Game One?

The final score was 2-0 in favor of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Q: Who scored the goals for the Hurricanes in Game One against the Senators?

The goals for the Hurricanes were scored by Logan Stankoven and Taylor Hall.

Q: What significant play did Jordan Staal make during the game?

Jordan Staal energized the crowd with a fight against Brady Tkachuk early in the first period.

Q: How did Frederik Andersen perform in the game against the Senators?

Frederik Andersen had an outstanding performance, making crucial saves to maintain the shutout.

Apr 18, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Ottawa Senators left wing Brady Tkachuk (7) and Carolina Hurricanes center Jordan Staal (11) fight during the first period in game one of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images | James Guillory-Imagn Images Jordan Staal got the crowd going with a fight, Frederik Andersen was outstanding, and the Carolina Hurricanes took down the Ottawa Senators in a dominant 2-0 performance that saw the team take a 1-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Any hopes of a sleepy start by either team, but especially the Canes who have basically been allowed to coast for the last couple of weeks were dashed from the start when Brady Tkachuk and Jordan Staal dropped the gloves for a fight that didn’t last long. It seemed as if Tkachuk was trying to tell everyone he was fine after a scary incident earlier in week on Long Island when he stumbled off the ice, so that was accomplished. That said, Tkachuk easily lost as he took several punches from the Canes Captain before ripping him down onto the ice. The rest of the period was as expected—a contest between two teams playing the same style. It took the Hurricanes several minutes to register a shot on goal, yet they basically dominated play to the first TV timeout. Both teams were in passing lines, diving to the ice, and clogging things up trying to prevent a score. and Frederik Andersen both faced a few tough chances, and both made easy stops. The Senators did get one Power Play in the period, but they spent more of it in the Hurricanes end than their own. The one best chance they had was intercepted by and led to a scoring chance for Carolina. When the second period started Carolina was able to get the opening goal they were hoping for, and do it in a way that reignited fears fans would have had about Linus Ullmark. The play started with a great keep in by , who fed it over to , getting it over to . Blake left the puck for to put it on net, and he found the five hole under Ullmark as it bounced off his skate and in. It was a tough goal for Ullmark to give up as he had a clear view of the puck. The Canes though did waste a chance to put a hammer lock on the game as they would get their first Power Play on a too many men, and that would turn into a 5-on-3 as a slash was called. Unfortunately the Canes came up empty, but the Penalty Kill for the Canes still came up big later to keep it at a 1-0 game heading into the third. Carolina outshot the Senators 8-4, but as expected the four for Ottawa were high quality chances that Andersen was able to save. The third period was an intense show of playoff hockey, going back and forth and hinged on what ended up being an amazing save by Andersen. Ottawa was on the power play, and managed a shot on Andersen. Andersen made the save but the puck rattled around in his glove a bit. The referee made a definitive motion that the puck crossed the line. To their credit, the officials immediately went to the video review where confirmed the puck did not fully cross the line. As explained on the ESPN broadcast, for it to be a goal—even if it’s called one on the ice—on a review they have to see it completely cross the line. The Canes would use that as a rest, Andersen made another great save and a few minutes later the Hurricanes would crash the net on the other end. In the chaos the puck ended up in the net—the goal was credited to Taylor Hall—and Carolina had the important 2-0 lead. Carolina had a chance to get it to 3-0 with yet another 5 on 3 advantage, but it again fell short—though it did at least look better. Ottawa would get another great chance with the Power Play near the end of the third as would get called for Carolina’s second Puck Over The Glass violation, but again the team stood strong and Andersen made a key save with about ten seconds left in the penalty to effectively shut the door on the game. Carolina ended the game with the full compliment of players, while Ottawa—already missing two key players—played two periods without who left after putting a hit on . Travis Green didn’t have any update after the game on his status, but a long term injury to a first pair defenseman could be a huge fork in the road moment for the Senators. The two teams go back at it on Monday night at 7:30 in the Lenovo Center