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RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - APRIL 18: Logan Stankoven #22 of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the third period in Game One of the First Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Ottawa Senators at Lenovo Center on April 18, 2026 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
It’s Monday at the Lenovo Center and time for game two of the opening round matchup between the Carolina Hurricanes and Ottawa Senators.
Don’t look for any changes on the Carolina side as the same lines and pairings were on the ice at the morning skate. According to our friend, Walt Ruff, Frederik Andersen was back in the starter’s crease and it looks like he will play again tonight.
And why not? Andersen earned a 22 save shutout in game one. It would be shocking if Brind’Amour did not come back to his favorite goalie.
The Hurricanes were very physical in game one and were credited with 57 hits. Can they run that back again?
One unsung hero in the series opener was Alexander Nikishin. The defenseman did not earn a point but was instrumental in both Carolina goals on Saturday.
On the first goal he made a nice play keeping the puck in the zone before Taylor Hall, Jackson Blake, and Logan Stankoven combined for the score. On the second goal he was able to get the puck on net which goalie Linus Ullmark had trouble controlling.
The plus/minus stat can be deceiving at times but in this case, his (plus +2) was totally earned. By the way, this corresponds with his team best (plus +18) for the regular season.
The Stankoven, Hall, Blake line seemed to have most of the chances in game one and made it to the scoresheet. Look for the other lines to try to break through as well.
In the meantime if they didn’t know it beforehand, the Sens realize now that they are in a dog fight and the Canes didn’t make it first in the East by accident.
Here is a good article with some quotes from the Sens. They expect to improve for game two.
https://www.nhl.com/senators/news/stutzle-we-ve-got-to-find-a-way-to-put-one-in-the-back-of-the-net
As of this writing, I do not see any update regarding Artem Zub, who was injured in game one. I would expect about the same lineup for Ottawa as game one.
Here is how to catch the action:
Game Time: 7:30 PM
TV: ESPN2 has the national broadcast with John Buccigross doing play-by-play and AJ Mleczko handling color. For FanDuel Sports Net in the Carolinas, Mike Maniscalco will handle play-by-play alongside Tripp Tracy doing color. Hanna Yates and Shane Willis will provide off-ice reports.
Streaming: ESPN Unlimited will have the game for National folks, FanDuel Sports Network App for fans in the Carolinas. A very important note—the NHL Power Play feature isn’t available on ESPN during the playoffs, so the only way to hear Mike and Tripp on the TV will be through the FanDuel app.
Radio: The pregame on 99.9 The Fan starts at 6:30PM and runs for 60 minutes in the playoffs. At 7PM the Hurricanes Radio Network (consisting of 99.9, 730 The Game in Charlotte, ESPN New Bern 107.5/1490, and ESPN Greenville 107.5/1570) picks up the FDSN feed. You can also stream the call on the Hurricanes app.
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