Staal's goal pushes Hurricanes past Senators 4-3 in final home game before Olympic break

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Jordan Staal scored the go-ahead goal with roughly five minutes left to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Ottawa Senators 4-3 on Tuesday night.

The captain scored his 14th of the season after a neutral-zone turnover by the Senators, with Nikolaj Ehlers coming up with the puck and sending it ahead to Staal at the blue line. Staal skated in and fired from the left circle, banging the puck into the upper right corner of the goal at the 14:53 mark of the third period.

That finally put Carolina ahead for good on a night when it pushed to a 3-1 lead, only to have the Senators respond with a pair of power-play goals to tie it. Before those scores, Carolina had gone 14 for 14 on the penalty kill in its last six games.

Seth Jarvis scored twice in the second period for the Hurricanes, while Sebastian Aho struck for Carolina's first goal late in the first. Brandon Bussi had 22 saves for the Hurricanes, including a big one while diving to his left in to deny Jake Sanderson with Ottawa going 6-on-5 late after pulling Reimer in an attempt to tie.

Sanderson blasted a one-timer to tie the game at 3 early in the third for the Senators, who got on the board less than 3 minutes in with Stephen Halliday's redirection from the edge of the crease. Tim Stutzle also scored on the power play late in the second, a critical goal coming less than a minute after Jarvis' second score pushed Carolina to a 3-1 lead.

Reimer finished with 14 saves.

The Hurricanes had won 10 of 14 and carried an eight-game point streak entering their final home game before the Olympic break. That included a 4-1 win at Ottawa on Jan. 24, though the Senators had won all four games since and outshot Carolina 25-18 in this one.

Senators: Ottawa visits Philadelphia on Thursday.

Hurricanes: Carolina visits the New York Rangers on Thursday.

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Carolina Hurricanes' Jalen Chatfield (5) battles Ottawa Senators' Stephen Halliday (83) for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Ottawa Senators' Dylan Cozens has his shot blocked by Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Brandon Bussi (32) with Jordan Staal nearby during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Carolina Hurricanes' Logan Stankoven (22) carries the puck between Ottawa Senators' Jake Sanderson (85) and Tim Stützle (18) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Carolina Hurricanes' Jordan Martinook (48) battles for the puck with Ottawa Senators' Nick Jensen (3) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns had 19 points and 14 rebounds, and the New York Knicks rolled to their seventh straight victory, 132-101 over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.

Mikal Bridges scored 23 points and Jalen Brunson added 21 for New York, although the Knicks did lose Josh Hart to a sprained left ankle in the third quarter. Hart, who dealt with right ankle trouble earlier this season, walked gingerly to the tunnel immediately after leaving the game and did not play again.

Will Riley scored 17 points and Bub Carrington added 14 for the Wizards. Washington has won three of its last five, but the two defeats were by 31 to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday and by the same margin to the Knicks four days later.

New York has won 11 consecutive games against the Wizards.

The Knicks went 2-9 from Dec. 31 to Jan. 19, but they've rebounded impressively from that slump. During this seven-game run, they have wins by 54, 27, 30 and 31. They led by 41 on Tuesday.

New York was able to rest players ahead of Wednesday night's showdown with Denver, which also played Tuesday at Detroit. Only Brunson reached the 30-minute mark in this game for either team.

The Knicks led by as many as 18 points in the first quarter and were up 72-45 at halftime.

OG Anunoby scored 19 points for New York. Hart had four points, seven rebounds and seven assists before exiting.

New York went 17 of 37 from 3-point range.

Knicks: Host Denver on Wednesday night.

Wizards: At Detroit on Thursday night.

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Washington Wizards forward Khris Middleton (22) goes to shoot during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the New York Knicks, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns, dunks the ball against Washington Wizards center Alex Sarr, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Washington Wizards guard Will Riley goes to shoot against New York Knicks guard Mikal Bridges during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) goes to shoot against Washington Wizards forward Kyshawn George (18) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)