Top-seeded Hurricanes face a surging Senators squad. Get projected lineups, key matchups, and how to catch all the playoff action.
What - Round 1, Game 1
When - 3 p.m., Saturday, April 18
Where - Lenovo Center; Raleigh, NC
How to Watch - FanDuel Sports Network South, ESPN, Sportsnet, TVAS
The Carolina Hurricanes will kick off the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs this afternoon as they host the Ottawa Senators for their first round matchup.
The Eastern Conference's top team heads into their eighth straight postseason appearance after finished the year with a 53-22-7 record, good for second best in the league and also the second best in franchise history.
Carolina got to this point thanks to a wealth of scoring depth (they led the league with seven 20+ goal scorers and had the best power play in the league since the start of the new year) and a talented blueline featuring several proven veterans.
They've adapted their game to feature more rush-based offense, but they're still able to grind away teams and play that gritty, playoff style.
It's this adaptability that they hope will give them an extra edge this year.
However, Ottawa is not your typical WC2 team, as they've been one of the NHL's best since the back of the year.
The Senators are amongst the best 5v5 teams in the league, good at both scoring and suppressing chances, and their power play has been red hot to boot.
They're a big, physical team and so even though they might be inexperienced, they're going to be a tough out for Carolina, especially if goaltender Linus Ullmark plays well.
It should be a fun series between two teams who look and play a very similar brand of hockey.
Streaks
- Logan Stankoven (7g, 4a) has points in eight straight games.
- Andrei Svechnikov (6g, 2a) has points in seven straight games.
- Sean Walker (2g, 5a) has points in six straight games.
- Nikolaj Ehlers (2g, 4a) has points in four straight games.
- Sebastian Aho (1g, 1a) has points in back-to-back games.
Milestone Watch
- K'Andre Miller, Nikolaj Ehlers, Nicolas Deslauriers, Mike Reilly and Brandon Bussi could all make their Carolina Hurricanes playoff debuts today.
Game Notes
- This is the first time the Canes and Senators have faced off in the playoffs.
- This year, Carolina went 2-1-0 against Ottawa in the regular season, outscoring them 11-10.
- For their careers, Sebastian Aho (9g, 26pts in 25gp) and Nikolaj Ehlers (12g, 30pts in 26gp) are point-per-game players against the Senators.
- Ottawa holds a few connections to the Hurricanes franchise as Ridly Greig's father, Mark, played for the Hartford Whalers from 1990-94; Jake Sanderson's father, Geoff, played for the Whalers and Hurricanes from 1991-97; James Reimer played for Carolina from 2019-21; and goaltending coach Justin Peters played for Carolina from 2010-14.
- Hurricanes assistant coach Tim Gleason was drafted by the Senators in the first round of the 2001 draft.
Key Matchups
Projected Starting Goalies
- Frederik AndersenThis Season: 16-14-5; 0.874 Sv%; 3.05 GAACareer Playoffs: 46-35; 0.914 Sv%; 2.40 GAA
- Linus UllmarkThis Season: 28-12-8; 0.891 Sv%; 2.73 GAACareer Playoffs: 5-10; 0.885; 3.28 GAA
Leading Scorers
- Goals - Seth Jarvis (32) / Tim Stutzle (34)
- Points - Sebastian Aho (80) / Tim Stutzle (83)
Power Play
- Carolina - 24.9% (4th)
- Ottawa - 24% (8th)
Penalty Kill
- Carolina - 80.5% (11th)
- Ottawa - 75.7% (29th)
Hurricanes Projected Lineup
Andrei Svechnikov - Sebastian Aho - Seth Jarvis
Taylor Hall - Logan Stankoven - Jackson Blake
Nikolaj Ehlers - Jordan Staal - Jordan Martinook
William Carrier - Mark Jankowski - Eric Robinson
Jaccob Slavin - Jalen Chatfield
K'Andre Miller - Sean Walker
Shayne Gostisbehere - Alexander Nikishin
Frederik Andersen
Brandon Bussi
Injuries and Scratches: Mike Reilly, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Pyotr Kochetkov (hip)
Senators Projected Lineup
Drake Batherson - Tim Stutzle - Claude Giroux
Brady Tkachuk - Dylan Cozens - Ridly Greig
Nick Cousins - Shane Pinto - Michael Amadio
Warren Foegele - Lars Eller - Fabian Zetterlund
Jake Sanderson - Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot - Jordan Spence
Dennis Gilbert - Nikolas Matinpalo
Linus Ullmark
James Reimer
Injuries and Scratches: Cameron Crotty, Stephen Halliday, Hayden Hodgson, Kurtis MacDermid, Lassi Thomson, Leevi Merilainen, Nick Jensen (LBI), Tyler Kleven (UBI)
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