'You only get one first NHL game': Canes' call-up Foegele stars as Hurricanes top Senators

Warren Foegele made his NHL debut Monday for the Carolina Hurricanes and wanted to keep it simple.

“You only get one first NHL game, so try not be too nervous and have fun,” he said after the morning skate at PNC Arena.

Foegele, 21, not only had fun but was instrumental in the Hurricanes’ 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators, making his presence felt.

On his first NHL shot, Foegele scored.

On his second shot, he earned an assist.

Just like that, two points.

Valentin Zykov, Brock McGinn and Sebastian Aho also scored, and Cam Ward beat the Sens for the second time in three days for the Canes (34-31-11), seven points out of playoff position in the Eastern Conference with six games remaining,

Foegele was recalled Sunday from the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL and made the most of his first NHL appearance. Canes coach Bill Peters had him announce the starting lineup in the locker room before the game — a nerve-racking task for a rookie -- and he said Elias Lindholm twice and left out Phil Di Giuseppe. Oops. But Foegele handled the game part well.

In the first period, he made a quick move out of the corner against Sens defenseman Ben Harpur and got off a sharp shot that beat goalie Craig Anderson to the short side.

"I thought I'd do a tight turn on (Harpur) and shoot it on net," Foegele said. "I heard the crowd make a noise and I looked in the back of the net. It was pretty surreal, something I'll remember forever."

In the second period, after Bobby Ryan had tied the score for the Sens, Foegele put a shot on net from the slot. Anderson made the stop but fumbled the puck, and Zykov was there to stuff it over the goal line.

For Zykov, that’s now three goals in four games, plus two assists. The power forward, recalled from the Checkers last week, had made an immediate impact.

"Z's coming," Peters said of Zykov. "You know he's coming along nicely."

McGinn’s goal came on an open shot from between the circles and was his 15th of the season and third in the past four games. Ryan scored on a quick spinning shot in the slot in the second period, but Ward made sparking saves before and after Ryan’s score.

He made a sprawling stop on a shot by Mike Hoffman to keep to a 1-1 game, pushing hard to his left across the crease. Ward, who had 34 saves Saturday as the Canes won 5-2 in Ottawa, then made some good stops on a third-period power play by the Sens.

Derek Ryan had a pair of assists for the Canes and Aho extended his career-best point streak to nine games with a late empty-net score.

The Canes again played without injured defenseman Justin Faulk, out with an upper-body injury. The Sens (26-38-11), in turn, were missing defenseman Erik Karlsson and a few others.

Foegele became the 21st player in franchise history to score in his first game. Peters said the plan was to play Foegele for a few games, then return him to the Checkers, who are in good position to reach the AHL playoffs for a second straight season.

That’s always subject to change, of course.

"Foegele's a real elite skater," Peters said. "When he spends more time in the National Hockey League, the game will slow down for him and you'll see that speed on display with and without the puck."

This story was originally published March 26, 2018 at 9:22 PM with the headline "'You only get one first NHL game': Canes' call-up Foegele stars as Hurricanes top Senators."