By AIDAN JENSEN
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The day Carolina Hurricanes fans waited for all summer long was finally here – Wednesday, Oct. 11.
That’s just a random Wednesday in the middle of October, right?
No – it was Opening Night.
In front of an over-capacity crowd of 18,893 (PNC Arena holds 18.680), the Canes rode a balanced scoring attack to a 5-3, come-from-behind victory over the Ottawa Senators.
Carolina captain Jordan Staal anchored the attack with a goal and an assist each. Teuvo Teravainen, Brady Skjei, Jaccob Slavin and offseason acquisition Michael Bunting all added goals, with Skjei’s tally being the deciding score nearly eight minutes into the third period.
Ottawa nabbed the night’s first goal, sending a slapshot from the blue line past Canes goalie Frederik Andersen. The visitors carried a 1-0 lead into the locker room.
Carolina’s scoring spree started in the very next period, with Bunting finding himself alone in front of Senators goalie Joonas Korpisalo. Bunting pushed the puck past Korpisalo to tie things up, then with minutes to go in the second, Teravainen finished off a one-timer to give the hosts a 2-1 advantage.
Staal joined the scoring party with a beautiful, spinning, early-third period backhand. 3-1 Canes. Would they roll to a victory from here?
Not if Ottawa had anything to do with it.
The visiting Senators scored two goals 35 seconds apart – first from a short-handed, one-timer goal by Parker Kelly, then the game-tying goal (3-3) when Tim Stutzle skated into the zone and fired a wrist shot past Andersen.
Yet it was the good guys who got the last laugh.
Canes winger Jordan Martinook stole the puck from Stutzle. He passed it to Staal, who then sent it to Fast. Skjei perfectly placed his one-timer and scored for a 4-3 Carolina advantage, which sent the Caniac faithful into pandemonium.
The Canes got in on the shorthanded scoring action to cap a night of offense growing on trees, with Slavin rocketing a one-timer past Korpisalo.
Fans will have to wait two more weeks (Thursday, Oct. 26 against the Seattle Kraken) before the Canes return home, with them now embarking on a 6-game road trip.
Carolina heads to California for games against the Los Angeles Kings (Saturday, Oct. 14), Anaheim Ducks (Sunday, Oct. 15) and San Jose Sharks (Tuesday, Oct. 17), Seattle for a clash against the Kraken (Thursday, Oct. 19), Denver for a weekend battle against the Colorado Avalanche (Saturday, Oct. 21), then back East to Florida for a rivalry matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning (Thursday, Oct. 24).
For one night, though, wasn’t it amazing to have hockey back?
It’s sure going to be a fun season, with the Canes expected to, once again, be amongst the Eastern Conference’s best. Hopefully, it ends with a Stanley Cup this time.
