Carolina Hurricanes forward Logan Stankoven had his day with the Stanley Cup on Sunday, bringing the Cup home to family and friends in Kamloops, B.C.
Stankoven was a huge part of the Canes’ championship run this spring, and if you ask the average Sens fan, many would suggest he should have been the Conn Smythe Trophy winner.
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That’s because Stankoven was an absolute Sens slayer in the first round of the playoffs, scoring a goal in every game of the series. And if you’ll recall, this was a series where goals were hard to come by… for both teams.
Take away Carolina’s two empty-netters and an overtime winner, and the Hurricanes scored just eight regulation goals in the entire four-game series.
Stankoven scored half of them. And set up another.
The series would have looked very different without Stankoven, and seeing him out and about and enjoying his big day with the Cup made it hard not to think back to that series.
Jun 20, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Hurricanes center Logan Stankoven (22) holds up the Stanley Cup Trophy during the Stanley Cup championship parade and rally at Raleigh. Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images
Despite the Sens’ loss, Game 2 remains one of the most entertaining games I’ve seen in years, and one of the craziest overtime games in Senators history.
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That game and its double OT had it all.
There was the Sens comeback from a two-goal deficit, an apparent overtime winner that wasn’t, an overtime penalty shot, some unreal saves at both ends, a couple of Senators ringing shots off the post/crossbar, and finally, a double-overtime winner from the same guy who had just missed that OT penalty shot.
If you’ve forgotten how crazy that night in Raleigh was, it’s worth another look.
The Canes had won Game 1 and seemed well on their way to taking a commanding 2-0 series lead to Ottawa after Stankoven (naturally) and Sebastian Aho gave the Hurricanes a 2-0 lead in Game 2.
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But the Senators didn’t go quietly.
Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens scored in the second period to tie the game, while Linus Ullmark was playing out of his mind at the other end.
Ullmark stopped 43 shots on the night, including a terrific glove save on a Taylor Hall one-timer in the second period and another huge stop on Jordan Staal in the dying seconds of regulation. And he had a bunch more in OT, including a penalty shot save.
So it was off to overtime, and that’s when things got weird… and unbelievably exciting.
With 2:42 remaining in the first overtime, Mark Jankowski appeared to end it. Jankowski jumped on a loose rebound and beat Ullmark, sending the Hurricanes pouring off the bench and the crowd in Raleigh into celebration.
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Game over? Not so much.
After an offside review and a missed penalty shot, the Sens came back from the dead twice in Game 2 without the clock moving a single second.
Officials reviewed the play and determined Carolina had been offside entering the Ottawa zone, so the goal was wiped out and the Senators had new life.
But the review created another problem for them.
Before the puck had gone into the net, Warren Foegele had hooked Martinook on his way to the net, and the delayed penalty was actually going to be a penalty shot. So while the Hurricanes lost their apparent game-winning goal, Martinook skated up to the puck all alone at centre ice
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Once again, Carolina had a chance to end it. Once again, they didn’t.
Ullmark stopped Martinook on what was the NHL’s first overtime penalty shot in a playoff game since 2020.
And the game continued.
The Senators had already had two unreal chances in tight during the first overtime from Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stützle.
Tkachuk got a nice feed out front from Drake Batherson and his shot barely clipped the top of Frederik Andersen’s right pad. Another quarter-inch higher and the puck was in.
On Stützle’s chance, he outwaited Andersen, slid it past that same right pad and hit the goalpost.
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In the second overtime, Michael Amadio got another glorious chance in tight. His shot clipped the top of Andersen’s left shoulder and fluttered toward the net.
ESPN’s John Buccigross screamed, “He scores!” For a split second, it looked like he had.
Instead, the puck gently glanced off the crossbar and stayed out.
If the Sens get a bounce on any of those plays, we’re probably remembering Game 2 as one of the great playoff wins in Senators history.
Instead, Carolina finally put the matter to rest.
With fatigue clearly setting in, Brady Tkachuk meekly turned the puck over at the far blue line, and as Carolina quickly transitioned back the other way, it set off a series of unfortunate events.
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On the one hand, you had tired forwards either scrambling around or puck-watching. And on defence, Jordan Staal was allowed to stand directly in front of Ullmark, and no one touched him, let alone tried to move him. You could almost feel the death blow approaching.
With the Canes whipping the puck around at will, Martinook found wide open ice in the slot between Stutzle and Batherson and ripped a great shot past Ullmark, who was still being screened by Staal.
After 93 minutes and 53 seconds of incredible hockey, the game was over.
The Senators have played plenty of bigger playoff games over the years. But it’s hard to think of many that were crazier or more entertaining than that one.
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And seeing Stankoven zipping around Kamloops with the Stanley Cup on Sunday was a pretty good reminder of it.
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News
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