Carolina Hurricanes Sweep Ottawa Senators in Game 4 to Advance in Playoffs
The Ottawa Senators were unable to find an answer for Taylor Hall and Logan Stankoven, leading to the end of their season. The Carolina Hurricanes, the top seed, completed a series sweep with a 4-2 victory in Game 4, with goals from Hall and Stankoven. Sebastian Aho added two empty-net goals to secure the win. Stankoven scored in every game of the series, while Hall led all skaters with two goals and seven points. Ottawa's Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens also scored in the game.
The game was marked by a physical second period, with incidents like a hit from Senators defenseman Tyler Kleven on Hurricanes defenseman Alexander Nikishin and a controversial punch from Ridly Greig during a scrum. Ottawa played without star defenseman Jake Sanderson, who suffered a concussion in Game 3. The Senators will now exit the playoffs, while the Hurricanes advance to face the winner of the Penguins-Flyers series.
The series' opening period was intense, with strong defensive plays and physicality. The second period of Game 4 was particularly aggressive, with multiple penalties and scrums. Kleven's hit on Nikishin led to altercations on the ice, including a punch from Andrei Svechnikov. Greig's actions in a scrum also added to the tension, resulting in penalties for both teams.
The Senators finally scored a power-play goal in the second period of Game 4, courtesy of Batherson. Despite struggling with power plays earlier in the game, Batherson's goal brought relief to the team and the fans. Ottawa faced challenges with clean zone entries and aggressive penalty kills from the Hurricanes. The Senators ended the game 1-for-8 on power plays.
Senators coach Travis Green kept his lineup decisions under wraps for Game 4, making changes due to Sanderson's absence. The team made adjustments on defense and in the forward lines, but ultimately only Cozens and Batherson managed to score goals in the series. The Senators were held to two goals in the game, with Cozens and Batherson finding the back of the net.
Hurricanes winger Nikolaj Ehlers sat out Game 4 due to injury, with Deslauriers taking his place in the lineup. Ehlers had a quiet series with just one assist in three games, despite his strong regular-season performance. Deslauriers played a limited role in the game, logging four penalty minutes and four hits.