The Carolina Hurricanes did a lot right offensively in their 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators, but Brandon Bussi made it possible against a hungry team.<\/p>\n
Tuesday, the Hurricanes squeezed out a win in their final home game before the Olympic break. Of course, it didn\u2019t come as easily as the standings would deceitfully insinuate. The Senators, who were on a four-game winning streak, dug in throughout the night, with a strong push once Jordan Staal left them trailing late in the third period.<\/p>\n
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It cannot be underestimated how \u2018on it\u2019 Staal has been this season. His go-ahead goal with just a hair over five minutes left was a thing of beauty: top-shelf in open ice, thanks to an elite stretch pass from Nikolaj Ehlers. Not only that, he led the team in hits, with six, and in faceoffs, winning 55.0% of them. His performance in the dot was a welcome sight as he returned to the excellence on the draw he\u2019s been known for after a short stretch of below (his) average faceoff numbers.<\/p>\n
Of course, Staal was far from the only Hurricanes to shine in the win, as both Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis set the top line on fire. Aho scored the Hurricanes\u2019 first goal with a fine wrister courtesy of a pass from K\u2019Andre Miller, while Seth Jarvis scored two goals \u2013 once on the power play and once five-on-five.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the player who kept the Hurricanes hanging on was goaltender Brandon Bussi, who faced an insane 17 high-danger chances against; an extremely rare number to see. Out of the 25 shots faced, he made 22 saves. At one point, he even attempted a mid-air stacked pad save.<\/p>\n
Just One More Until the 2026 Winter Olympics<\/p>\n
Though a sigh of relief may escape following the win, the Hurricanes cannot get too relaxed before the Olympic break, as they will quickly turn around and face the New York Rangers on Thursday before the flight to Milan-Cortina from the same city.<\/p>\n
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