Stanley Cup playoffs 2026: Brady Tkachuk, Jordan Staal fight 3 seconds into Hurricanes' Game 1 win over Senators

Ian CasselberrySat, April 18, 2026 at 11:03 PM UTC

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No fighting in the Stanley Cup playoffs? Apparently, no one told the Ottawa Senators’ Brady Tkachuk and the Carolina Hurricanes’ Jordan Staal.

As the puck dropped for Game 1 of their first-round NHL playoff matchup, the two team captains dropped their gloves right after the opening faceoff and began tussling three seconds into the contest.

Tkachuk appeared to have the advantage initially, connecting with a couple of right-handed punches. But Staal shook off those blows and countered with an upper cut, then followed with a punch that knocked Tkachuk to the ice. From there, officials stepped in and separated the two captains.

It’s unlikely to be remembered that Tkachuk won the opening faceoff. Especially when his team suffered a 2-0 defeat in the first game of their playoff series.

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After gloves dropped, the playoff game continued

The remainder of the first period was relatively anti-climactic after those opening fisticuffs with the Senators and Hurricanes tied 0-0. But Carolina took a 1-0 lead two minutes into the second period with Logan Stankoven scoring on a wrist shot.

Ottawa appeared to have scored the tying goal early in the third period with Drake Batherson flicking the puck past Carolina goaltender Frederik Andersen. The play was ruled a goal on the ice but replay could not conclusively determine that the puck crossed the goal line when Andersen caught it with his glove, so the score was waived off.

Four minutes later, Taylor Hall deflected in a rebound off a long shot by Stankoven to give Carolina a two-goal advantage. That was enough of a lead for Andersen, who stopped all 22 shots he faced from the Senators. On the other side of the ice, Ottawa goalie Linus Ullmark saved 27 of 29 shots.

Carolina takes a 1-0 series lead with Game 2 scheduled for Monday night.

The Hurricanes won the Metropolitan division with a 53-22-7 record for 113 points. That matched them with the Senators, who earned the second wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference at 44-27-11 for 99 points. The winner of this series will face either the Pittsburgh Penguins or Philadelphia Flyers in the second round.

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Source: “AOL Sports”