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The Carolina Hurricanes survived a comeback bid by the Ottawa Senators to take a 2-0 series lead in the first round. They very nearly lost and went on the road tied 1-1, which is not a good situation to be in. Momentum can be a fickle thing, and the Canes learned that, but they survived every momentum shift en route to a commanding series lead.
Hurricanes survive double-overtime thriller
The Carolina Hurricanes were cruising into the second period last night. Fresh off a clean shutout victory over the Ottawa Senators in Game 1, an impressive shorthanded goal pushed their lead to 2-0 in the second period. It looked like they were going to continue cruising at home.
The Senators surged, though, scoring two goals to tie the contest in that period. The third period went without a goal, as both goalkeepers made brilliant saves and the offenses were stymied for a full 20 minutes. To overtime they went.
In the first overtime period, the goalies starred again, but the Canes appeared to have won it on a Mark Jankowski goal. It looked good, but a replay from the officials showed that he was just offside at the beginning of the play, so the game continued. Later, Jordan Martinook missed a penalty that would’ve won it. NHL players are now 0-5 on overtime penalty shots in Stanley Cup history, so Martinook is not alone here.
That could’ve and probably should’ve ruined the Hurricanes’ chances. To blow a two-goal lead, see a winner overturned, and miss a penalty would’ve sunk lesser teams, but they kept pushing, and midway through the second overtime, Martinook made up for his blunder and scored the winner past Linus Ullmark, who otherwise had 43 saves.
Offside?
Goal reversals can be crushing in the NHL, especially in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They are often hard to come by, and with just two goals on the scoreboard in overtime, the Hurricanes weren’t exactly thriving against Linus Ullmark.
When Mark Jankowski broke through, the place erupted, but the referees deemed that Jordan Staal had been offside on zone entry. Even though it happened a good bit before Jankowski slotted home a goal after a Seth Jarvis shot was deflected, the play was nullified.
“They determined that the player did not have control and possession of the puck prior to his feet breaking the plane at the blue line. You need to have possession and control as you’re entering the zone. They felt he didn’t,” ESPN rules analyst Dave Jackson said. “He had possession — the puck hit his stick — but he never controlled it until the puck was inside the zone. He put himself offside essentially.”
Jordan Martinook opens up on rollercoaster win
Jordan Martinook was the hero for the Canes, but he was almost the goat. Had they lost, that missed penalty would’ve loomed large. It could’ve been a horrible gaffe that totally turned the series on its head. Instead, Carolina walked out with a clutch win and series lead.
“I felt pretty bad when I didn’t score that one. But obviously the emotion when you score … hockey’s crazy,” Martinook said. “Being able to score after that, I’ll tell my grandkids about that one, that’s for sure.”
As for the goal, the forward admitted it was just an attempt to get shots on goal, which is Carolina’s offensive strategy. They want to overwhelm the defense. “I’d be lying if I said I picked my head up and looked and picked the corner. At that point, you’re just trying to put as many pucks on net you can,” Martinook said. “I got it and just ripped it. Luckily, it went in.”
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