RALEIGH, N.C. – The Carolina Hurricanes finished a back-to-back set of games with a 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators at PNC Arena on Sunday.
An explosive three-goal second period for Carolina determined the final outcome after the Senators took an early lead shortly after the opening faceoff.
Ottawa captain Jason Spezza, who had tallied 37 points in 31 previous games against Carolina, kept his hot hand against the Hurricanes going by opening the game’s scoring at 1:07 when he followed up his own rebound to beat sprawling Carolina goalie Cam Ward on the play.
After the Hurricanes’ Manny Malhotra won the faceoff to Ward’s left, Senators forward Milan Michalek hurried Carolina defenseman Ryan Murphy to play the puck along the boards, and in the process Mika Zibanejad picked it up behind the net and found Spezza open in the slot.
As Spezza snapped a shot towards Ward, the netminder made the save, but couldn’t get a hold of the rebound as the Ottawa forward got away from defenseman Jay Harrison and put Ottawa ahead 1-0.
Ward, who made 35 saves, denied the Senators any further scoring opportunities for the remainder of the game, making spectacular stops including a diving save with the paddle of his stick that denied Colin Greening the chance to put Ottawa ahead by two at that point in the first period.
“It’s great seeing him (Cam) in top form like that,” Hurricanes head coach Kirk Muller said of Ward.
“That injury pushed him back, but now he’s put two solid games together. He’s given us an opportunity like we’ve said yesterday to stay in the game in Boston and get a point and then today with that big save, you know it could have been a turning point…That’s a huge lift for us to have our goalie play that way.”
Jordan Staal put one of Carolina’s best shots on goal with just under seven minutes to play, but Ottawa goalie Robin Lehner made the save to keep his team ahead.
The Hurricanes continued to apply their tenacious forechecking pressure on the Senators defense, created opportunities to score, but still trailed 1-0 heading into the second period.
Carolina then blew the game wide open, scoring three consecutive goals during the first 10 minutes of play.
Patrick Dwyer scored his second goal in as many games as he caught Lehner off-guard with a quick wrist shot over his blocker shoulder to tie the game 1-1 at the 3:10 mark.
“That’s how we draw it up,” Dwyer said of the team’s emphasis to win faceoffs back to the point.
“It’s a game of reads, so it doesn’t always happen like that. But if we get a clear faceoff win, we have certain plays that we want to try and do and to set up…It was one of those where the puck was thrown back to the D and Faulker took it down the wall. It was just hard work in the corner and it squeaked out, and I just threw it on net and it found a way.”
Just three minutes later, an Ottawa shot following a faceoff in Carolina’s end went wide past Ward and traveled around the boards to Eric Staal who moved the puck up the ice and into the Ottawa zone.
As Staal gained the blue line, he found a streaking Tuomo Ruutu who took the Carolina captain’s pass and snapped a shot below Lehner’s blocker and gave Carolina its first lead of the game 2-1, with 13:51 to go in the period.
A few minutes later, Ottawa defenseman Chris Phillips was penalized for cross-checking Nathan Gerbe into the boards deep in the Senators zone, and gave Carolina its first power play opportunity of the game.
It didn’t take long for the Hurricanes to capitalize on it as rookie forward Elias Lindholm took the puck out of the cycle on a pass from Eric Staal.
From the corner, Lindholm skated along the goal line from Lehner’s right and stuffed a shot into the corner above the keeper’s glove hand that extended the lead to two goals, 3-1.
“I was yelling for the puck and he found me pretty good,” Lindholm said of Staal’s pass to him in the corner that gave him his second goal of the season, and first on the power play.
“There was a lot of space, I walked in, tried to shoot it in and it went through. It was nice.”
Tallying assists on both the Ruutu and Lindholm goals, Staal extended his current point streak to six games.
“That was his best game by far,” Muller said of Staal’s performance.
“It was also his hardest working game. Two things – he worked really hard and he worked smart. He used his wingers really well…He just played the game the right way tonight. He was the guy that really led us up front I thought tonight. Everyone contributed, but he was the real leader.”
The three-goal scoring spree in a single period tied similar scoring bursts that Carolina has tallied twice previously this season, and the first since an Oct. 19 win (4-3) over the New York Islanders.
With Carolina holding onto its two-goal lead, both teams alternated power play opportunities during the third period, but neither could convert on them accordingly.
Ward and Lehner, who made 33 saves on the night for the Senators, continued to be challenged with shots from up close and in goalmouth scrambles, but both kept their teams battling on even terms in what appeared to be an eventual scoreless final period of play.
However, with 2:43 remaining in the game, Ottawa pulled Lehner for the extra attacker and allowed Staal the chance to cap off the game’s scoring and his three-point night with an empty-net goal 20 seconds later.
By the time the final horn sounded, it was evident that the Hurricanes’ overall energy level stayed higher than that of the Senators, and allowed them to earn the win to the delight of the 13,657 fans on hand who gave the team a standing ovation.
“It’s nice just playin’ the game, using your instincts, enjoying being out there, and lettin’ things kinda’ happen,” Staal said.
“It feels like sometimes we’ve been chasin’ it at times, and tonight was one of those nights where we were executing our plays and makin’ some good looks and gettin’ some bounces.”