- Logan Stankoven scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third for his fourth in four games
- Tyler Kleven knocked Alexander Nikishin out cold with a thunderous open-ice hit that triggered a brawl
- Read below for full details and video on Carolina’s first-round sweep of Ottawa
Carolina is the first team out of the first round.
The Hurricanes finished off the Ottawa Senators on Saturday with a 4-2 win in Game 4, completing a four-game sweep of the Eastern Conference matchup at Canadian Tire Centre.
Logan Stankoven scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period. That gives him four goals in four games this postseason:
Carolina now waits on the Flyers-Penguins winner. Philadelphia took a 3-0 series lead earlier this week and can finish things off Saturday night.
Game 4 was anything but routine. Tyler Kleven leveled rookie Alexander Nikishin with a thunderous open-ice hit early in the second period.
The young defenseman appeared to be knocked out cold, lying motionless on the ice before stumbling and needing teammates to help him to the bench.
Here’s the video of the hit that lit the fuse:
Carolina announced Nikishin would not return because of an upper-body injury. Kleven was not assessed a penalty after a video review.
Andrei Svechnikov jumped Kleven and threw punches at the back of his head, drawing a double-minor for roughing. Things only escalated from there.
Brady Tkachuk crushed Taylor Hall along the boards minutes later:
After an icing call moments later, a full-on scrum broke out, with Ridly Greig landing an uppercut on a defenseless Sean Walker. Walker boarded Greig in apparent retaliation seconds later and was sent to the box for two.
By the end of a wild second period, both teams had a goal and 11 minor penalties between them. The Senators racked up eight power plays through 40 minutes, and Rod Brind’Amour was caught on camera screaming at referee Kendrick Nicholson from the bench.
Taylor Hall opened the scoring for Carolina, the same Hall whose head shot left Sens defenseman Jake Sanderson concussed and out of Game 4.
Nikolaj Ehlers also missed Game 4 with a lower-body injury, with Nicolas Deslauriers slotting in and immediately tangling with Tkachuk during the second-period chaos.
The Senators needed a win to extend their season. They got punches and power plays instead, but the Hurricanes had the only number that mattered, according to NHL.com: four.
