The Ottawa Senators have been swept out of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Logan Stankoven the go-ahead goal in the third period as the Carolina Hurricanes defeated Ottawa 4-2 to win the teams’ first-round series 4-0.
Taylor Hall added a goal and an assist before Sebastian Aho buried two pucks into the empty net for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Frederik Andersen made 25 saves. Seth Jarvis chipped in two assists.
Drake Batherson, with a goal and an assist, and Dylan Cozens replied for the Senators, who put up just five times in four games and never led against the Hurricanes. Linus Ullmark stopped 26 shots. Rookie defenceman Carter Yakemchuk added two assists in his playoff debut.
Of the 213 NHL teams to fall behind 3-0 in a seven-game series, just four have come all the way back to win — the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, 1980 New York Islanders, 2010 Philadelphia Flyers and 2014 Los Angeles Kings.
Ottawa also trailed last spring’s first-round matchup with Toronto 3-0 after seven years outside the post-season tournament before eventually falling in six games.
Stankoven scored his fourth goal in as many contests at 9:10 of the final period on a power play off rebound from the end boards.
Batherson came close to equalizing again with six minutes at the side of Andersen’s to go before Carolina was whistled for too many men. But Ottawa’ anemic power play again couldn’t generate any quality looks against a high-pressure penalty kill.
Aho scored into the empty before Cozens made it 3-2 with 1:51 left on the clock. Aho then sealed the series for good with another empty netter.
Carolina took the first two contests at home in the best-of-seven matchup — 2-0 and 3-2 in double-overtime — before grinding out a 2-1 victory in Game 3.
The Senators’ battered blue-line took another big blow Thursday when Jake Sanderson suffered a concussion after taking an illegal check to the head from Hall.
The smooth-skating 23-year-old joined Artem Zub (undisclosed injury) and Nick Jensen (knee) on the sidelines to continue an injury trend in a campaign that has seen Ottawa use 12 defenceman since the Olympic break.
Carolina opened the scoring in a physical, nasty second period when Hall beat Ullmark five-hole at 15:15 after Mark Jankowski made a big shot block at the other end.
Ottawa’s power play — 0-for-12 in the series entering play and without much going Saturday — finally broke through 17:08 when Drake Batherson tipped a Tim Stutzle one-timer past Andersen inside the towel-waving Canadian Tire Centre after Ullmark denied Jordan Staal in alone short-handed.
Emotions boiled over earlier in the period after Senators defenceman Tyler Kleven crushed Hurricanes counterpart Alexander Nikishin with a huge hit that left the Russian dazed and needing help off the ice.
Stutzle nearly scored on a short-handed breakaway before Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk started throwing his weight around on Hall and Jalen Chatfield. A massive scrum ensued at centre after the whistle, with Carolina tough guy Nicolas Deslauriers seeking retribution.
The Senators failed to connect on a 5-on-3 power play — shades of a disastrous two-man advantage in Game 3 — before the teams traded late goals.
Ottawa hit numerous posts and crossbars in the first three games and again found iron early in the first when Lars Eller scooped a puck just off target from in tight.
The Senators had another got a two-man advantage for 33 seconds later in the period, but failed to register shot on target.
Ullmark robbed Staal at the other end on a Carolina man advantage before Nikolas Mantipalo blocked a Aho effort from the slot.
