The Carolina Hurricanes can end this first-round series on Saturday, when they face the Ottawa Senators in Game 4 with a 3-0 lead and a chance to move on to the second round. Puck drop is set for 3:00 PM EST in Kanata, and Ottawa head coach Travis Green said his team will be without Artem Zub and Jake Sanderson.
That leaves Ottawa short two top pairing defensemen at the moment it needs one of its cleanest efforts of the season. Zub remains out after injuring himself in Game 1 when he hit Seth Jarvis, while Sanderson is sidelined with a concussion after a hit from Taylor Hall. Hall was given a two-minute minor penalty for illegal contact to the head on the play, and the NHL did not issue supplemental discipline.
The absences matter because Ottawa has already watched Carolina win three straight tight games in the series. Frederik Andersen shut the Senators down in Game 3, while Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake scored on passing plays to keep the Hurricanes in control. Stankoven has scored the first goal in each of the first three games, and Carolina’s top line of Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis has combined for just one point through those games.
For Ottawa, Thomas Chabot and Jordan Spence are expected to carry a heavier defensive load, and Carter Yakemchuk could make his playoff debut. The Senators also enter the game with a question hanging over the other side of the ice: whether Carolina keeps leaning on the same formula that has worked all series, or opens the door for a different look if the game gets away from the tight pattern that has defined the matchup so far.
Game 4 is the last chance for the Senators to force the Hurricanes back home. If Carolina keeps getting the same kind of structure and timely scoring it has had through the first three games, this series could end in Kanata.
