RALEIGH — The Hurricanes are part of Justin Williams’ legacy as Mr. Game 7. Logan Stankoven might be Mr. Game 1.
Stankoven, who opened last postseason with two goals in the opener against the Devils, scored the first goal of the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs and assisted on the second, and Frederik Andersen made 22 saves for his first shutout of the season as Carolina beat the Senators 2-0 Saturday to take a 1-0 series lead over the Senators at Lenovo Center.
“Everybody out there was giving it all they had,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said, “and that was what you saw.”
After a physical opening 20 minutes — including a fight between captains Jordan Staal and Brady Tkachuk off the opening faceoff — that favored Carolina, the Hurricanes got the first goal early in the second period.
Carolina rookie defenseman Alexander Nikishin kept a puck in at the Ottawa blue line that Taylor Hall retrieved. Hall whacked the puck to Jackson Blake, who one-touched it to Stankoven for a shot that trickled under Linus Ullmark (27 saves) for a 1-0 Hurricanes lead at 2:11 of the middle frame.
“I think it’s just right place, right time,” Stankoven said of his brief but prolific history in Game 1s.
It was the only goal Carolina would need thanks to Andersen.
Brind’Amour didn’t reveal that Andersen would start in net over Brandon Bussi until just before 1 p.m. on Saturday. It proved to be the right decision.
Andersen was solid if unspectacular in the first two periods, calmly steering away the nine shots Carolina allowed to reach him in the first 40 minutes. In the third period, however, he proved spectacular.
The Senators were held without a shot on goal in each of their first two power plays. But with Carolina defenseman Jalen Chatfield in the box for interference early in the third period, Ottawa forward Drake Batherson appeared to tie the game on a second-chance effort in front.
Dylan Cozens fed a pass across the crease that Batherson redirected on Andersen. The veteran goalie got his left pad on the shot, but Batherson shoveled the rebound back toward the net. Andersen lunged with his glove and swatted the puck out and covered it for a whistle.
But referee Brandon Blandina emphatically pointed toward the net signaling a goal.
An automatic review proved otherwise, as Andersen had kept the puck from crossing the goal line to preserve Carolina’s 1-0 lead.
“I had a pretty good idea,” Andersen said when asked if he thought he had saved the shot. “You never know. I think when they slow it down from those angles, I had a good feeling that my glove wasn’t really going to cross the goal line. But I felt like I got a good piece of it. And obviously, the cameras agreed, so I’m happy.”
Twenty-five seconds later, Andersen did it again, stopping Tkachuk off a Batherson feed from the seat of his pants to again deny the Senators.
“You’re looking for goalies to make saves at the right time, and that’s the right time, you know?” Brind’Amour said of the first of the two key stops. “And that’s what he did tonight. How do you explain that? That’s exactly the game right there. And he was up for the challenge tonight.”
A few minutes later, Stankoven got his second point of the night when his chance in front of the net hit Taylor Hall’s skate and went in to double the Hurricanes’ lead to 2-0 at 7:15 of the third.
The Hurricanes killed off a late penalty to help Andersen secure his first shutout since his 3-0 shutout win over Florida in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference final on May 26, 2025.
“I think he’s a guy that, at least I saw last year, when the lights are brightest, he’s going to be there standing tall,” Hall said of Andersen.
The tone for the game was set by the two players who loom largest for their respective teams.
As the teams prepared for the opening draw, Tkachuk leaned in and asked Staal to fight. The Carolina captain accepted, and when the puck dropped, the gloves came off.
“A physical guy, plays hard, and he wanted to go,” Staal said. “So it’s part of the gig. … It was an interesting start, for sure.”
Staal, who hadn’t fought since the 2016-17 season until he scrapped following a questionable hit by Minnesota’s Tyler Pitlick earlier this season, got the better of the frequently fighting Ottawa captain.
“I had no idea that was going to happen,” Brind’Amour said. “Two grown men going at it.”
Hall credited Staal with leading the way — both in the fight and the rest of the Game 1 win.
“He’s the best,” Hall said. “Not just the fight. … I thought he was a beast all night protecting pucks, doing what he does. He’s such a good player.”
Notes: Ottawa defenseman Artem Zub left the game after a first period hit on Seth Jarvis. … The Hurricanes out-hit the Senators 57-39, led by eight from Andrei Svechnikov and seven from Jordan Martinook. … Ottawa won 31 of 55 faceoffs (56.4%). … Stankoven and Svechnikov led all players with six shots on goal. … Blake had two assists. … The Stankoven line held 5-on-5 advantages in Corsi (17-3), shots (10-1), scoring chances (11-2) and high-danger scoring chances (9-0). Forwards Nicolas Deslauriers and Jesperi Kotkaniemi, defenseman Mike Reilly and goalie Pyotr Kochetkov were healthy scratches for Carolina.
