Hurricanes vs. Senators Game 4: Key takeaways as Stankoven powers Carolina to sweep

AtlanticBruinsCanadiensLightningMaple LeafsPanthersRed WingsSabresSenatorsMetropolitanBlue JacketsCapitalsDevilsFlyersHurricanesIslandersPenguinsRangersCentralAvalancheBlackhawksBluesJetsMammothPredatorsStarsWildPacificCanucksDucksFlamesGolden KnightsKingsKrakenOilersSharksScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsFantasyNHL OddsNHL PicksNHL playoff predictionsBracketStanley Cup tiersNHL Draft rankingRed Light NewsletterNHL Playoffs With four goals in as many games, Logan Stankoven powered Carolina to the next round. Josh Lavallee / NHLI via Getty Images Share article7OTTAWA — The Ottawa Senators still had no answer for Taylor Hall and Logan Stankoven, and now their season is over. Led by a goal apiece from the two forwards, the top-seeded Carolina Hurricanes completed a first-round series sweep with a physical, 4-2 victory in Game 4. Sebastian Aho added two empty-net goals to ice the win. Stankoven scored a goal in every game this series, finishing with four, while his linemate Hall led all skaters with two goals and seven points. Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens each scored a goal for Ottawa, which entered the postseason as the Eastern Conference’s second wild card. The game was marked by a physical, scrum-filled second period where the Canes lost defenseman Alexander Nikishin after a punishing hit from Senators defenseman Tyler Kleven, and a controversial Ridly Greig uppercut as the third man in on a scrum between Sens forward Warren Foegele and Canes defenseman Sean Walker. Ottawa played Game 4 without star defenseman Jake Sanderson, who suffered a concussion in Game 3 after being hit in the head by Taylor Hall. The Canes will play the winner of the Pittsburgh Penguins-Philadelphia Flyers series, where Philadelphia holds a commanding 3-0 series lead. The Senators, meanwhile, exit the opening round of the playoffs for the second straight year. Ottawa faced a 3-0 series deficit last season, winning Games 4 and 5, before losing Game 6 at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Here are some key takeaways from Game 4 in Ottawa. The series’ opening period felt like a whirlwind because of the defensive plays, active stick work and physicality. The second period of Game 4 felt like watching a war play out on ice. We begin with Kleven’s hit on Nikishin, which left the Hurricanes defenseman dazed on the ice. In response, Canes forward Andrei Svechnikov battled and punched Kleven on the ice, picking up a four-minute penalty for roughing. Canes forward Nicolas Deslauriers then chirped at Kleven, threatening to go at him in the game, only to be pulled away by Senators defenseman Dennis Gilbert. Later, during a scrum at center ice, Greig delivered a controversial sucker punch as the third man in on Walker as the Hurricanes defenseman was grappling with Sens forward Warren Foegele. Greig hadn’t given himself any favors after taking a penalty for goaltending interference earlier in the period. No wonder Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour was left as red as a tomato after yelling at referee Kendrick Nicholson from his stoop on the Canes’ bench. Sens captain Brady Tkachuk also threw his body around in the second period of Game 4, including a hit on a ducking Hall, who has become public enemy No. 1 in Ottawa for his hit on Sanderson. Then, near the end of the frame, Walker delivered a dangerous hit on Greig along the boards that led to another scrum. When the teams went to the dressing room, they had combined for 11 two-minute minor penalties, with the Canes accumulating 16 of the 22 total penalty minutes. It took until the second period of Game 4, but the Senators finally have a power-play goal courtesy of Batherson. The tally came over two minutes after Hall scored to give the Canes an early lead, emphatically celebrating with his teammates at his bench. Batherson responded in kind, jumping into the corner glass and bringing the CTC crowd to its feet. The goal brought some relief after the Senators failed to convert on numerous power plays to start Game 4, including a handful of five-on-threes. Ottawa failed to register a shot on its first five-on-three of the game and only registered one shot on all of its five-on-threes. The Senators struggled with clean zone entries. And when they did, they let themselves get smothered by the Canes’ aggressive penalty kill. If it wasn’t the Canes’ sticks breaking up plays, it was the Senators skating into double teams. The Sens ended the game 1-for-9 on power-play opportunities, while killing 4-of-five of Carolina’s power plays. Senators coach Travis Green would much rather keep his lineup decisions to himself if given the chance. So it wasn’t a surprise that he wouldn’t tip his hand about potential changes in a do-or-die Game 4. “That’s why you’ve got to pay the ticket to come watch the game,” Green said Saturday afternoon. In the absence of Sanderson (concussion), rookie Carter Yakemchuk played on the Senators’ third pairing with Dennis Gilbert. Yakemchuk was used on the power play, too, finding himself defending a three-on-one early in the game. The Canes, however, couldn’t complete the play. Elsewhere, Kleven reunited with Nikolas Matinpalo, and Thomas Chabot and Jordan Spence were given top-pairing duties. The injury bugs even threatened again when Chabot was briefly injured in the first. Up front, Foegele was moved onto the top forward line with Tim Stützle and Batherson, while Tkachuk returned to a second-line role with Greig and Cozens. The offense was ultimately held to two goals from Cozens and Batherson, the only Senators to score goals in this series. And of course, the Sens hit another post when Lars Eller was denied by the iron in the first period. Hurricanes winger Nikolaj Ehlers looked to be in pain in Game 3 against the Senators, wincing multiple times while trying not to limp on the ice. And then, moments before Game 4, the Canes announced that Ehlers would be sitting out their attempt to clinch the series. Like most of his teammates not on the Hall-Stankoven-Blake line, the Danish playmaker had experienced a nondescript series with just one assist in three games. But he finished the regular season with 45 assists and 71 points, both of which ranked second among Carolina players. Deslauriers took Ehlers’ place in the lineup, slotting in on the Canes’ fourth line alongside Mark Jankowski and Eric Robinson. He skated only 3:09, logging four penalty minutes and four hits. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms