Few players have seen as much hockey as center Jordan Staal. When there’s even a chance to score, the 37 year old knows exactly how to deliver.

“It was a tight game,” Staal said. “It just takes one little mistake, which we capitalized on.”

Like a shark smelling blood in the water, Staal raced ahead of the pack to get in position to score. In a 3-3 game against the Ottawa Senators with barely five minutes remaining, every opportunity matters. With the best chance the Canes would get for the rest of the night, Staal delivered and whizzed the puck over the goalie’s head and into the net.

Fly set it up and Jordo locked in 😤 pic.twitter.com/dzVuX4XitO

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) February 4, 2026

“Fly obviously made a great pass,” Staal said. “Quick up, saw them changing and I got a good angle and I closed my eyes and shot went in.”

Staal’s shot proved to be enough for Carolina to escape with a 4-3 win over Ottawa, breaking the Senators’ four-game win streak. In a back and forth affair, the Canes proved they’re capable of handling the competitive pressure.

“Competitive pressure or whatever you wanna call it is always there for us,” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “It’s kinda internal, we got a certain standard and way we want to play.”

The Hurricanes (35-15-6) certainly lived up to their standard on Tuesday. The Senators (27-22-7) showed up ready to fight. While Carolina often dominates shots on goal, Ottawa flipped the script with a 25-18 advantage. Yet, the Canes didn’t fold, instead adapting and making the most of the opportunities they received on the offensive end.

“We’ll take the win any way we can,” said center Sebastian Aho. “Sometimes the game goes like that… get some points and get us to the playoffs. As of late we’ve done a pretty good job of that, so just keep it going.”

Center Seth Jarvis in particular capitalized on his opportunities. Scoring twice in the second period, Jarvis caught the Senators’ defense lagging and burst past defenders. First on the power play to give the Canes a lead and then on a breakaway, Jarvis showed he can zip past defenses and is always a threat to score.

“Maybe I look fat out there or something and they think I’m a little slow,” Jarvis said. “The speed’s still in there somewhere and it’s nice when you get those opportunities to catch them flat footed.”

While Jarvis showed out in the second period, the Senators punched right back. Taking multiple shots that would knock most teams down for the night, Ottawa kept fighting and scored a pair of goals in the final two periods to even the score.

It would have been easy for the average goalie to fold after seeing two quick goals go in. Fortunately for Carolina, goalie Brandon Bussi isn’t average. With the resilience to continue battling even as the defense struggled, Bussi locked up the goal for the final 15 minutes of the game. Thanks to Bussi’s efforts, the Canes had the opportunity to win at the end with Staal’s shot, rather than playing for overtime.

“He’s been so steady ever since he showed up here,” Staal said. “He’s steady, but also makes the big saves too in big moments.”

The win marks Carolina’s second win of the year over Ottawa. The Canes will get one more crack at the Senators with a chance to secure a season sweep.

The Canes have just one game left before an extended break during the Winter Olympics. Carolina will hit the road to take on the New York Rangers on Thursday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. and will be available on FanDuel Sports Network South.