Hurricanes tie game in final seconds, defeat Senators

RALEIGH, N.C. --The Carolina Hurricanes may have been sellers leading up to the 2016 NHL Trade Deadline, but they certainly have not given up hope of reaching the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Jeff Skinner scored twice, including the tying goal with less than 1 second remaining in regulation when the Hurricanes defeated the Ottawa Senators 4-3 in a shootout at PNC Arena on Tuesday.

Skinner scored with a slap shot from the slot off the right post with 0.2 seconds remaining to tie the game at 3-3. Victor Rask's shot from the bottom of the right faceoff circle was blocked by Dion Phaneuf and went straight to Skinner.
"I knew there wasn't much time left," said Skinner, who reached 25 goals for the third time in six years. "Rask did a good job getting the puck to the net. It took a bounced off one of their (defensemen). Again, just the right spot. I just tried to get it through."

It was the second game this season Skinner tied the game with less than five seconds remaining in regulation. He scored with four seconds left in an eventual 3-2 overtime win at home against the Senators on Nov. 7.
"He's got an elite scoring touch when he's feeling it, no question," Jordan Staal said. "He seems to find the puck a lot around the net, and obviously he's got great hands and a quick release."
The Hurricanes (30-26-11) got shootout goals from Riley Nash and Jaccob Slavin. Needing a third-round goal to extend the shootout, Nash scored on a wrist shot. Cam Ward (21 saves) then denied Mark Stone to send the shootout to a fourth round, where Carolina defensemen Slavin lifted a backhand shot past Andrew Hammond in his first NHL shootout attempt.
"It was an exciting moment for me," said Slavin, who skated a team-high 26:19. "It's my go-to move. I've done that my whole life. It's worked a couple times for me in the past, so I figured I would give it a shot."

The Hurricanes were active prior to the trade deadline, trading captain Eric Staal, Kris Versteeg and John-Michael Liles. But they have five points in their past three games to move within four points of the Detroit Red Wings for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
"You would be impressed with that no matter what group you had," Staal said. "It's a team that's been resilient. We haven't played our best hockey yet, but we've stuck with most of the games we've played."
The Hurricanes got off to a slow start. Stone gave the Senators (31-29-8) a 1-0 lead at 7:58 in the first period. After a Slavin turnover, Stone gathered the puck and quickly slipped it inside the left post. Scott Gomez, playing his fourth game for the Senators, got his first point.
Ottawa pushed the lead to 2-0 in the final minute of the period. Bobby Ryan skated behind the net and laid a backhand to Ryan Dzingel, who went from his backhand to his forehand for a tap-in at the right post at 19:33.

The Senators had a 12-6 advantage in shots in the first period.
"You play a first period like that, it's not very often you're going to come out with a win, but Ward did a great job keeping us in it," Skinner said. "We kind of hung Ward out to dry."
Carolina quickly cut the lead in half at the start of the second period. After Hammond fought off a shot by Phil Di Giuseppe, Skinner pounced on the rebound at the top of the crease for his 24th goal at 1:48.
"Skinner played well," Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said. "He has been playing well for a while now. We need him to take a step. We need all the young guys to take a step. He's responding, and I've been giving him more responsibility."

Jay McClement made it 2-2 with a shorthanded goal at 6:24. After picking up a loose puck at the red line, he skated down the right wing before cutting to the net and shoveling a shot past Hammond at 6:24.
The Senators reclaimed the lead with a shorthanded goal in the final minute of the second period. Curtis Lazar's pass in the neutral zone set up Zack Smith, who raced around Noah Hanifin and beat Ward between the legs from the left circle at 19:25.
After fighting the puck a bit in the second period, Hammond (34 saves) settled in to make several good stops in the third period, including blocker saves on Brendan Woods and Ron Hainsey.
"It was a game of swings," Ottawa coach Dave Cameron said. "We were real good in the first, they were real good in the second. I thought we sat back a bit in the third, but certainly when you give up a goal with (0.2) seconds on the clock, it's a little disheartening."
The Senators had two looks at the empty net in overtime, but Stone and Mike Hoffman each missed wide of the net.
"We had a couple looks at the empty net, but full marks to them," Cameron said. "It's just a loss tonight."