The Carolina Hurricanes advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by sweeping the Ottawa Senators 4-0, capping the series with a 4-2 victory in Game 4 on Saturday night at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa.

Logan Stankoven scored the go-ahead goal on a third-period power play, his fourth of the series, one in each game, to put Carolina ahead 2-1 at 9:10. Taylor Hall opened the scoring at 15:15 of the second period with a wrist shot past Linus Ullmark, assisted by Mark Jankowski. Drake Batherson tied it for Ottawa on the power play at 17:08, tipping a Tim Stützle shot. Sebastian Aho sealed the win with two empty-net goals late in the third, at 17:38 and 18:45, after Dylan Cozens pulled the Senators within one at 18:09.

Frederik Andersen made 26 saves for the Hurricanes, while Ullmark stopped 25 for Ottawa. Seth Jarvis added two assists for Carolina, and rookie Carter Yakemchuk had two for the Senators in his playoff debut.

The series scores were: Game 1 on April 18, Carolina 2-0; Game 2 on April 20, Carolina 3-2 (2OT); Game 3 on April 23, Carolina 2-1; and Game 4, 4-2. The Hurricanes outscored Ottawa 14-5 overall, never trailed in any game, and scored first each time. Carolina's penalty kill was stellar, limiting Ottawa to 1-for-21 on the power play series-wide.

"We executed really well," Aho said. "We played really well without the puck. I thought we gave them no room, we were blocking shots, we were checking bodies." Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour praised his team's focus: "I'm really proud of the group for the way they played for four games." He highlighted Andersen's goaltending in a tight matchup with Ullmark.

Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk called it a "heartbreaking" and "really tight series." Coach Travis Green noted progress from last year but pointed to injuries, including to defensemen Jake Sanderson and Artem Zub.

As Eastern Conference regular-season champions with 113 points, the Hurricanes became the first team to advance in 2026 and the third in NHL history to win at least one playoff series in eight straight years. They also joined 19 other teams to never trail in a best-of-7 series.

Carolina awaits the winner of the Philadelphia Flyers-Pittsburgh Penguins series, where Philadelphia leads 3-1. Game 5 is scheduled for Monday.