RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — The Carolina Hurricanes took a dramatic 3-2 double-overtime victory after blowing a two-goal lead against the Ottawa Senators on Monday night in Game 2 of their first-round NHL Playoff series.
The Senators had erased a 2-0 deficit to tie the game and send it into overtime against the top-seeded Hurricanes.
Mark Jankowski slammed home a rebound late in overtime to give Carolina the apparent 3-2 victory. But on review, the goal was overturned. Then, officials ruled that Jordan Martinook was fouled and awarded Carolina a penalty shot. With a clear chance to win it, Martinook’s penalty effort was saved by Linus Ullmark.
“Try having a penalty shot after all that,” Martinook quipped.
Hurricanes defenseman K’Andre Miller and Ottawa’s Dylan Cozens chase the puck during the third period of Game 2 on Monday in Raleigh.
Karl DeBlaker
But in a sweet moment of redemption, Martinook punched in the winner with a snap shot at 13:53 of the second overtime.
“Hockey’s crazy, sports are crazy,” Martinook said. “Being able to score after that, I’ll tell my grandkids about that one, that’s for sure.”
The Hurricanes found themselves up 2-0 in the second period Monday before giving up goals to Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens that eventually pushed the game into overtime. Ullmark had been brilliant all night on the way to 43 saves, one coming when he gloved down a hammered one-timer from Taylor Hall as the puck shifted cross-ice to his left side.
Another came in the final seconds of regulation when Ullmark got his left shoulder on Jordan Staal’s shot from the top of the crease.
That all became prologue to those few minutes when things got weird in Raleigh.
“There’s a lot there to unwind, that’s for sure,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said.
The Hurricanes appeared to break through late in the first OT, with Mark Jankowski skating in to pounce on a loose rebound and beat Ullmark on the left side with 2:42 left to send the home crowd into a frenzy. But officials reviewed the sequence and determined Staal didn’t have possession and control of the puck as he entered the zone, coming as Martinook skated through the middle across the blue line for a 1-on-1 chance on Ullmark.
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“I don’t know that rule,” Staal said. “I pick up the puck, I look up where Marty is, and apparently, I lost control of it. And then I make a nice pass to Marty for a breakaway. I don’t really get it. … We battled through it. It is what it is.”
“It’s a weird play, you don’t see it a lot in overtime,” Senators coach Travis Green said, and he added, “I felt like it was offside. I thought the refs made the right call.”
But that sequence ultimately led to a hooking penalty on Warren Foegele, meaning Martinook quickly had to pivot to taking the first OT penalty shot in a postseason game since August 2020 and only the fifth ever.
Martinook skated in on Ullmark and tried to beat him to the glove side, only for Ullmark to knock down the puck and ensure the game would continue.
Afterward, a reporter mentioned to Martinook that he had a chance to become the first player ever to end a playoff game on an OT penalty shot.
“Thanks for that,” Martinook said with a grin. “I was trying to tell them we needed the power play, not the penalty shot,” Martinook said. “Yeah, I’ve never seen that. That’s a first.”
The Hurricanes ultimately came out on top – after the Senators nearly got their own sudden-death winner in the second overtime when Michael Amadio got an in-close shot. Frederik Andersen made the stop with his glove to deflect the puck, which kept rising and hit the crossbar before bouncing away.
Roughly 2 1/2 minutes later, Martinook buried a shot past Ullmark to finally end this one.
The Hurricanes lead the series 2-0. The series moves to Canada’s capital for Game 3 on Thursday.
– The Associated Press contributed.
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