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Hurricanes end Senators' perfect streak

Oct 12, 2007 - 3:57 AM OTTAWA (Ticker) -- The Ottawa Senators had to lose eventually, and the Carolina Hurricanes caught them at the right time.

Erik Cole scored two goals to lead the Hurricanes to a 5-3 victory over the previously undefeated Senators on Thursday night.

Chad Larose added three assists as Carolina handed Ottawa (5-1-0) its first loss of the season. The Senators also had compiled a perfect 7-0-0 mark in the preseason and had not lost since Game Five of the Stanley Cup Finals.

"I thought we skated well tonight, and we got the traffic in front of their net that we needed," Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette said. "We knew we were going to need some ugly goals against a team that hasn't been giving up many so far this season."

The Senators did not go down easy, storming back with late third-period goals by Mike Fisher and defenseman Joe Corvo less than two minutes apart. But the Hurricanes sealed it on an empty-net tally by Eric Staal with 57 seconds left in the game.

"It's early, but that's a great win for us, and one we can build on for this road trip," Staal said.

With Ottawa playing its second game in as many nights after posting a 3-1 victory in Atlanta on Wednesday night, Carolina got the early jump.

Cole scored his first goal of the season on the power play at 17:33 of the first period, snapping a rebound into a vacant net after goaltender Martin Gerber made a quick left pad save on Trevor Letowski's shot from the low slot for a 1-0 lead - one the Hurricanes would not relinquish.

"We wanted to come in here and keep the momentum going after a win in Toronto earlier this week, and I think we got Ottawa on a night when they weren't playing the way they're capable of playing," Cole said. "They may have been a little bit tired."

Matt Cullen doubled the lead just 70 seconds into the middle period, batting a waist-high rebound out of mid-air after Gerber had once again made the initial save. The goal was upheld upon review.

"Tonight was one of those nights when the rebounds seem to cost you goals," Gerber said. "It doesn't happen like that every night, but tonight there were some bounces their way, and they took advantage of them."

Gerber, facing his former team for the fifth time since signing as a free agent with Ottawa in 2006, was solid all night long despite taking the loss, turning away 27 shots.

Ottawa responded moments later, getting within 2-1 when Dany Heatley scored his fifth goal of the season on a centering pass by Jason Spezza from behind the net. Spezza circled behind the end line and made a slick pass to a charging Heatley, who put a quick shot past netminder Cam Ward low on the stick side.

Captain Rod Brind'Amour restored the Hurricanes' two-goal lead when he tapped in a loose puck at 6:23 of the second after LaRose swept in from the left side and attempted to slide it underneath Gerber.

"Even though we were up 2-0, I didn't think we started off the way we should have, to be honest," Brind'Amour said. "But maybe we caught them at a good time after a game last night and a late flight back. We were waiting for them, and we knew we were going to need a big effort tonight."

With 44 seconds left in the period, Carolina defenseman Dennis Seidenberg's attempt to clear the puck from his own zone shattered a pane of Plexiglas, resulting in a stoppage of play.

The second period was suspended with 43 seconds to play and resumed after the second intermission.

Cole extended the lead to 4-1 with his second goal of the game at 6:35 of the third. LaRose collected his third assist and Staal added his second on the play.

"This was definitely a good early-season test for us," Staal said. "We know we have a good team here. We're well-rested this year, and we're healthy for the most part, so we have some confidence right now, and beating a team like Ottawa really helps."

The Senators made the Hurricanes sweat when Fisher tallied to halve the deficit with 3:44 to play. Corvo then blasted a slap shot past Ward 1:55 later to pull Ottawa within 4-3 before Staal put the contest out of reach.

"This wasn't our best night," Fisher said. "We can take something from being able to battle back at the end, but we also have to realize that we can't dig ourselves a hole like that and expect to win, especially against the better teams in this league."

Ward finished with 27 saves for the Hurricanes, who were playing the third of a six-game road trip.