Hurricanes 3, Senators 2 - OT

The Carolina Hurricanes were just three seconds and a fraction from another disappointing loss, but Jeff Skinner tied the score late and Jordan Staal beat Andrew Hammond in overtime as the Canes put an end to their losing streak with a 3-2 overtime win against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night at the PNC.

This would have been another heart-breaking loss for the home team because they were dominating much of the stat sheet, although they were still losing the game.

After a scoreless first period which saw the Hurricanes outshoot the Sens 14-7, the Canes got on the scoreboard first early in the second period with another blast by Justin Faulk during a powerplay.   Victor Rask won the faceoff and got the puck to the defenseman for the lone assist on the goal.  Rask won 79% of his faceoffs for the game, (15 of 19).

Faulk still leads all NHL defensemen with five powerplay goals this season.

The Senators tied the game up later in the second period and then took a 2-1 lead four minutes after that when Chris Wideman scored his first career NHL goal.

The Canes took shot after shot at Hammond and seemed to throw everything but the kitchen sink at him, without success.  They outshot Ottawa 18-5 in the final period and it seemed like they were going to come up short another time at home.  But Skinner finally got his stick on a juicy rebound and lifted it over the goalie to tie things up with less than four seconds left.

Jordan Staal put on a nice move in the offensive zone and sniped a shot past Hammond to keep the Hurricanes undefeated in the new 3-on-3 overtime, (3-0).

The win now gives the Canes a 2-4 record at home.  They are 6-8-0 overall.

Next up will be a date with the New York Rangers in "The Big Apple" on Tuesday night.

Game Notes:

• Jordan Staal has heated up recently.  He has six points in the last five games.
• The Canes outshot the Sens 46-21 for the game and were led by Victor Rask, Faulk, and Skinner with five each.  They also won 63% of the game's faceoffs.
• Brett Pesce had a game high five blocked shots.
• Faulk continues to lead the way with 24:42 of ice time, but Eric Staal was right behind with 24:40.