The Carolina Hurricanes are the first team to advance to Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after completing a four-game sweep of the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
The Hurricanes took a hotly contested Game 4 by a score of 4-2, with Logan Stankoven scoring the key go-ahead goal midway through the third period.
STANKKKKK!!! #StanleyCup
— NHL (@NHL) April 25, 2026
Make that four goals in his last four games! 🤯
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It was Stankoven's fourth goal of Round 1 - one fewer than Ottawa's entire roster scored all series.
A Sebastian Aho empty-netter made it 3-1. Dylan Cozens brought the Senators within one with a late tally, but Aho's second empty-netter sealed the Hurricanes' victory.
Taylor Hall opened the scoring for Carolina. Drake Batherson registered Ottawa's other goal.
The game featured plenty of bad blood, mostly in the second period where 22 of the contest's 36 penalty minutes were handed out. Tyler Kleven delivered a crushing hit on Alexander Nikishin, who was forced to leave the game. Shortly after, Brady Tkachuk's big hit on Taylor Hall led to a line brawl in which Ridly Greig sucker-punched a defenseless Sean Walker. Walker later got retribution by stapling Greig into the boards from behind. No major penalties were issued.
Ottawa went 1-for-8 on the power play in the game. Carolina killed off 20 of 21 power plays in the series.
Frederik Andersen shined in the Hurricanes' crease once again, stopping 25 of 27 shots. He finished the series with a .955 save percentage.
The Hurricanes are the 20th team in NHL history to never trail in a game during a best-of-seven series. It's their second four-game sweep in franchise history.
Carolina is also the third team in league history to win at least one series in eight consecutive postseasons. However, the Canes have yet to advance past the conference finals in that span.
It's the second straight Round 1 defeat for the Senators, who have't won a playoff series since 2017.
Carolina will play the winner of the series between the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins. The Flyers hold a 3-0 lead and are back in action Saturday night.
