RALEIGH, N.C. — What appeared to be a Carolina Hurricanes overtime victory on Monday night turned into a wild sequence of events that left fans at PNC Arena stunned and players scrambling to refocus.
The top-seeded Eastern Conference team eventually secured a 3-2 double-overtime victory against the Ottawa Senators, taking a commanding 2-0 series advantage in their opening playoff round. However, the path to victory included a reversed goal call, a rare overtime penalty shot, and more than four hours of hockey drama.
Jordan Martinook delivered the game-winning goal at 13:53 of the second overtime period, firing a shot from the slot past Ottawa goaltender Linus Ullmark to finally conclude the marathon contest.
“Hockey’s crazy, sports are crazy,” Martinook reflected afterward. “Being able to score after that, I’ll tell my grandkids about that one, that’s for sure.”
The chaos began late in the first overtime when Mark Jankowski appeared to seal the victory by converting a loose rebound with 2:42 remaining. The home crowd erupted in celebration, only to watch officials review the play and determine that Jordan Staal lacked proper puck control during zone entry.
“I don’t know that rule,” Staal commented. “I pick up the puck, I look up where Marty is and apparently I lost control of it. And then I make a nice pass to Marty for a breakaway. I don’t really get it. … We battled through it. It is what it is.”
Ottawa coach Travis Green supported the officials’ decision, stating: “It’s a weird play, you don’t see it a lot in overtime. I felt like it was offside. I thought the refs made the right call.”
The sequence resulted in a hooking penalty against Warren Foegele, creating an unprecedented situation: Martinook found himself preparing for just the fifth penalty shot in playoff overtime history, and the first since August 2020.
“Try having a penalty shot after all that,” Martinook joked about the pressure-packed moment.
Facing Ullmark one-on-one, Martinook attempted to beat the Swedish netminder on the glove side, but Ullmark made the save to extend the game into a second overtime period.
“I was trying to tell them we needed the power play, not the penalty shot,” Martinook explained. “Yeah, I’ve never seen that. That’s a first.”
When informed he could have become the first player to end a playoff game with an overtime penalty shot goal, Martinook responded with a grin: “Thanks for that.”
The Senators nearly capitalized on their reprieve during the second overtime when Michael Amadio created a scoring chance in close quarters. Carolina goaltender Frederik Andersen made a crucial glove save, deflecting the puck upward where it struck the crossbar before bouncing to safety.
Approximately two and a half minutes later, Martinook found redemption by burying his game-winner past Ullmark.
Carolina head coach Rod Brind’Amour summarized the emotional roller coaster: “There’s a lot there to unwind, that’s for sure.”
The Hurricanes had dominated early, building a 2-0 advantage in the second period following their 2-0 series-opening victory on Saturday. However, Ottawa responded with goals from Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens to force overtime.
Ullmark delivered an outstanding performance throughout the contest, recording 43 saves including several spectacular stops. He robbed Taylor Hall with a glove save on a cross-ice one-timer and used his left shoulder to deny Staal from point-blank range in the final seconds of regulation.
The victory positions Carolina with a significant advantage heading into the remainder of the series, though Monday’s events proved that nothing comes easily in playoff hockey.
