OTTAWA, CANADA - APRIL 23: Jackson Blake #53 of the Carolina Hurricanes scores a goal against Linus Ullmark #35 of the Ottawa Senators during the second period in Game Three of the First Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Canadian Tire Centre on April 23, 2026 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Hurricanes take Game 3 to push Senators to brink

Sean O'Leary
19 days ago
Josh Lavallee / National Hockey League / Getty

The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Ottawa Senators 2-1 in Game 3 on Thursday to take a commanding 3-0 lead in their first-round series.

Jackson Blake's second-period tally stood as the winner. It came just over a minute after Drake Batherson tied the contest at 1-1.

Carolina's second line of Blake, Logan Stankoven, and Taylor Hall has been its most productive in the playoffs. Stankoven scored the opening goal of the contest for the third straight game, and Hall assisted on both Hurricanes tallies.

Frederik Andersen made 21 saves in the victory. He's allowed only three goals in the series.

Ottawa went 0-for-5 with the man advantage, including a lengthy 5-on-3 during the second period in which fans began booing the disjointed effort.

"The power play lost us the game," captain Brady Tkachuk said, per The Athletic's Julian McKenzie.

The Senators haven't been swept in the playoffs since 2007-08, while the Hurricanes haven't swept an opponent since 2018-19.

Game 4 is scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m. ET.

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