How Canes captain Jordan Staal led the way to Game 1 victory over the Predators

In the Stanley Cup playoffs, games can be won with scintillating shots and sparking saves, with the game’s stars playing like stars.

But more often that not, it’s more basic than that: Games become a test of wills.

So it seemed Monday, as the Carolina Hurricanes and Nashville Predators faced off in Game 1 of their first-round series at PNC Arena. It was a gritty game, a tough game. The Canes were the home team and cheered on by 12,000 fans that goalie Alex Nedeljkovic said sounded like 24,000, but the Predators were playing a strong road game, a solid playoff game, keeping it tight.

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It was 2-2 after two periods and something had to give. One team was going to force the other to a breaking point and gain a valuable first victory. One team would leave the ice dejected, feeling the weight of a playoff victory that could have been theirs but wasn’t.

This night, the game belonged to Jordan Staal and the Hurricanes. In a season in which the Canes captain has often been at his best, played his 1,000th career game, been voted by his teammates the Steve Chiasson Award as the Cane’ most inspirational player, there he was leading the way again Monday.

“He’s our captain for a reason and sets the example on and off the ice,” Canes forward Nino Niederreiter said. “He won a Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He knows what to expect. He knows what to do. We definitely want to follow his lead.”

Staal, named the game’s first star, scored twice in the 5-2 victory and both were a blend of power and determination.

On the first, Staal first won a draw in the neutral zone. Taking a pass from Brett Pesce, he split the Predators’ Mattias Ekholm and Roman Josi and took the puck almost to the goal line before lifting a heavy rising shot that sailed by goalie Juuse Saros’ head for a 2-1 lead in the second period.

“Just finding a way to get to the net,” he said.

Staal’s second goal was deflating for the Preds. Niederreiter had given the Canes a 3-2 lead in the third and the Canes were coming at the Preds in waves, shift after shift.

Staal first won a puck battle with Ryan Ellis behind the Preds net with first-man pressure on the forecheck. Canes forward Warren Foegele grabbed the puck for a quick shot on net that Saros stopped, but Staal corraled the rebound in the low slot, turned and zipped a low shot through Saros’ pads.

“He was great,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “You saw it again. It’s just what he does. He plays hard every shift. Whatever the situation is, you count on him.”

In the first period, with both team trying to set a physical tone — the Preds the aggressors, the Canes answering hit for hit — Staal made the kind of play on the penalty kill the Canes count on. He rammed into the Preds’ Ryan Johansen along the boards in the Canes zone, separating Johansen from the puck.

Johansen was irked, skating behind Staal as both went to their benches, yapping away. Staal ignored him, his job done. And the Canes got the job done, collectively.

“There’s going to be tight matches,” Staal said. “It’s playoff hockey. You’ve got to be comfortable in those situations and trust in your game and not deviate from that.

“I thought for the most part throughout the whole game we did a good job of that. You could tell towards the end that we were starting to take over the game.”

The Canes, at least in Game 1, had won the test of wills.

“The guys were grinding,” Staal said. “We were comfortable being in an uncomfortable situation. We kept at our game. We kept doing what we want to do. It ended up paying off for us.”

The Hurricanes had plenty to celebrate after Game 1 against the Predators

Carolina Hurricanes vs Nashville Predators

What: Stanley Cup playoffs, Game 2.

When: Wednesday, 8 p.m.

Where: PNC Arena, Raleigh.

TV: BSSO (Bally)