OTTAWA — The Ottawa Senators concluded their regular season on a high note Thursday night, securing a 7-5 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes. This game marked the final regular-season matchup for both teams.

The Senators welcomed back star forward Brady Tkachuk, who had been sidelined for eight games due to an upper-body injury. However, his return was cut short when he sustained a facial injury from a high stick in the second period and did not return for the remainder of the game.

Ottawa dominated the initial phase of the game, establishing a 3-0 lead within the first 17 minutes. Adam Gaudette, Dylan Cousins, and Shane Pinto each contributed a goal to this early surge.

Carolina responded towards the end of the first period, narrowing the gap to a single goal with goals from Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Skyler Brind’Amour, who celebrated his first NHL goal.

The Hurricanes shifted the momentum in the second period, scoring three unanswered goals to take a 5-3 lead. Andrei Svechnikov leveled the score with a power-play goal, followed by Jack Roslovic giving Carolina their first lead. Shortly after, Taylor Hall set up Tyson Jost, who scored against Senators’ goalie Linus Ullmark, who made a total of 28 saves.

Early in the third period, Gaudette scored his second goal of the night, bringing the Senators within one goal. Drake Batherson then equalized the score, beating Hurricanes’ goaltender Fredrik Andersen, who made 25 saves in the game.

Batherson later scored again on a power play, putting the Senators back in the lead. Tim Stutzle sealed the victory with another power-play goal in the closing moments of the game.

Senators’ players Thomas Chabot and Artem Zub were rested for the playoffs, and the Hurricanes also rested several of their key players for the game.

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