It wasn’t easy, but the Carolina Hurricanes accomplished their first goal of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs: win the first two games at home. The Canes beat the Ottawa Senators 3-2 in double overtime of Game 2 on Monday night, with Jordan Martinook playing hero late in the fifth period.

Martinook — who was stopped on a penalty shot by Sens goaltender Linus Ullmark in the first overtime — beat the Swede with a seeing-eye shot as he was being partially screened by Carolina captain Jordan Staal at the top of the crease.

“Of course it was him,” Staal said of his longtime linemate afterwards, per team reporter Walt Ruff. “You couldn’t have written it up any better. What a shot. The place was electric. It was super fun. Definitely in the memory bank.”

JORDAN MARTINOOK WINS IT IN DOUBLE @ENERGIZER OVERTIME! 🌪️ #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/zWWWQMXHuS

— NHL (@NHL) April 21, 2026

The Hurricanes jumped out to a 2-0 lead — like they did in Game 1 — but this time around, the Senators were able to mount a comeback. Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens scored six minutes apart in the middle frame to knot the score, and there wasn’t another goal until Martinook called game.

“I didn’t feel very good about myself after that penalty shot, and that intermission felt really long,” the veteran forward told reporters afterwards. “That was cool. I’m happy it worked out that way. It didn’t matter who scored, but it was going to be a long night if that penalty shot came back to bite me.”

It was Martinook’s first career playoff overtime goal.

With the victory, the Hurricanes are off and running in the playoffs. After winning the Eastern Conference for the first time in franchise history in the regular season, it’s Stanley Cup or bust in North Carolina this spring.

The series now shifts to Canada’s capital city, with the two teams getting an extra day of rest before hitting the ice again on Thursday night at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa.

Game 3 is a virtual must-win for the Sens; they cannot afford to fall into an 0-3 hole against a team as potent as the Canes. Puck is set to drop just past 7:30 p.m. ET.

It wasn’t easy, but the Carolina Hurricanes accomplished their first goal of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs: win the first two games at home. The Canes beat the Ottawa Senators 3-2 in double overtime of Game 2 on Monday night, with Jordan Martinook playing hero late in the fifth period.