Heartbreak in Raleigh: Senators drop double OT decision to Hurricanes despite brilliant effort by Ullmark

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - APRIL 20: Sebastian Aho #20 of the Carolina Hurricanes scores a goal on an assist from Jordan Staal #11 during the second period of Game Two of the First Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs against Linus Ullmark #35 of the Ottawa Senators at Lenovo Center on April 20, 2026 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Photo by Jared C. Tilton /Getty Images

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Hurricanes 3, Senators 2 (2OT)

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Senators trail series 2-0

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The Ottawa Senators took a short trip from hope to heartbreak in their playoff series with the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night.

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Jordan Martinook scored with 6:51 left in double-overtime to give secure a 3-2 victory for the Hurricanes to take a 2-0 series lead on the Senators with the series shifting back to Ottawa for Game 3 on Thursday.

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Martinook beat Linus Ullmark on the glove side to put a damper on what had been a brilliant effort on the 46th shot he faced. He made 43 stops.

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“He’s been playing unbelievable. He’s been making massive saves in big moments and we can do a better job in front of him,” said centre Dylan Cozens, who scored in regulation along with Batherson.

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Talk about drama. Jordan Martinook was stopped on a penalty shot he was rewarded with three minutes left in the first OT. This was one of the strangest sequences we’ve seen, which is what makes the playoffs great.

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Mark Jankowski fired it home with 2:42 left in overtime, but the officials went upstairs to look to see if the play was offside. It’s automatically reviewed, and it was ruled no goal which ruined the celebration in Raleigh.

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The league felt Jordan Staal wasn’t in control of the puck when he crossed the blueline.

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Once you get to OT, you know a mistake will decide it as these two teams went back and forth to create chances. Frederik Andersen made 37 stops.

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The Senators hit a combined total of five posts and crossbars.

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“We had a chance to score and we didn’t. That’s the way it goes sometime,” said captain Brady Tkachuk. “It sucks, but we’ve got a really important game in front of our fans that are going to be fired up.

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A victory in Game 2 was paramount for the Senators. The franchise has never won a series falling behind 2-0, including last spring against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and that’s happened 10 times in the past.

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During their run to the playoffs, the Senators were effective because they limited the scoring chances and won battles for pucks. The way the Canes play has made it difficult for Ottawa to repeat that success.

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This series is a hard, physical battle. The Senators have to be willing pay the price to create chances. Ottawa did a much better job of that in the third period by pushing the pace.

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The third period was frantic with both teams not trying to allow this game to get to overtime, but the Senators were the better team.

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RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA – APRIL 20: Jordan Martinook #48 of the Carolina Hurricanes reacts after scoring the game-winning goal during the second overtime period of Game Two of the First Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Ottawa Senators at Lenovo Center on April 20, 2026 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Photo by Jared C. Tilton /Getty Images

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Linus puts on a show

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If not full Ullmark, this game isn’t close. Tied 2-2 after 40 minutes, he was the only reason they were in it. The Senators were outshot 30-16 and he made several highlight reel stops in that stretch.

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The Senators just weren’t very good until they got back to their game in the third and used their speed to pressure the Hurricanes.

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Ullmark, who had 27 stops in Game 1, came into this game with a 0-3-0 career playoff record against the Hurricanes with a 3.49 goals-against average and .884 save percentage.