RALEIGH, N.C. — Mark Jankowski played his first game with the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday, scored two goals, was named the game’s first star, and was surrounded by members of the media in the team’s locker room after a win over the Winnipeg Jets.

But there was still more work to be done before he could rest and catch his breath.

The reason? His phone. It blew up.

“It was crazy after the game,” Jankowski said Monday. “I checked my phone and there were messages from family, friends, old teammates. A lot of messages, for sure.

“It took me a while to get back to everyone and I think I caught everyone. Then there was a bunch more this morning as well.”

And then Canes practice on Monday, where he again was centering a line with wingers Eric Robinson and Jack Roslovic.

Until Friday, Jankowski was a member of the Nashville Predators. When the NHL’s 3 p.m. trade deadline passed, Jankowski thought little of it. That was that.

“Then two hours later …” he said.

Jankowski was called and told he had been dealt to the Hurricanes minutes before the deadline, to head to Raleigh. He hopped a Southwest flight and said he made it to his hotel about midnight.

Also at the hotel: Logan Stankoven. The forward also had been moved, traded Friday by the Dallas Stars in the big Mikko Rantanen deal with the Canes.

Both were at the Canes practice Saturday at Lenovo Center, and in the lineup Sunday against the Jets.

Both scored.

The Canes won. All was good.

Hurricanes double up

The Hurricanes didn’t slow down there.

After slumping in the weeks surrounding the 4 Nations Face-Off — with temporary Hurricane Rantanen in tow — Carolina rattled off its fifth consecutive win Tuesday against Jake Guentzel, another former temporary Hurricanes, and the Tampa Bay Lightning, earning a 4-1 victory at Lenovo Center.

And after Andrei Svechnikov missed Monday’s practice with an unspecified injury, and with Dmitry Orlov still unable to go on the blue line, Jankowski was again in the lineup, along with rookie Scott Morrow. They had front row seats — and supporting roles — in the Canes’ win.

Sunday, Jankowski did his damage in limited ice time — he played just 9 minutes, 6 seconds, scoring twice on two shots. Tuesday, he was on the ice for 15 shifts and 11:37.

But while he and Stankoven were held off the board against Tampa Bay (though Stankoven was a plus-2), Seth Jarvis, Jordan Martinook, Roslovic and Sean Walker were not.

Jarvis got his goal in the first on a deceptive wrister over Tampa goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy’s left shoulder, and Martinook stuffed a harmless-looking shot short side off Vasilevskiy’s stick in the second. Both shots were those the Russian goalie is known for stopping most of the time.

Roslovic’s, however, was a pure snipe on the back end of a 2-on-1, a finish on a perfect pass from Taylor Hall. Walker’s was a seeing-eye wrister through traffic in the third.

‘It’s been a long journey’

Carolina is the 30-year-old Jankowski’s fifth NHL team in a professional career that began with the Calgary Flames. Later have come stops at Pittsburgh, Buffalo and then Nashville, before the trade to the Hurricanes.

“It’s been a long journey but it’s been a fun journey,” he said. “Any time you’re in the NHL, it’s a good day.”

Jankowski, born into a hockey family in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, has had to persevere during his personal journey. It hasn’t always been a smooth skate or all good days.

He was a little guy until his 10th-grade year, when he hit a growing spurt that took him from 5-foot-7 to 6-2 in about two years. He played high school hockey, then spent four years in college at Providence — winning a national title with the Friars in 2015.

The Flames surprised many NHL types by taking Jankowski, then 17, in the first round of the 2012 NHL draft, making him the 21st overall pick. It also surprised him.

“I think I blacked out when my name was called,” he said, smiling. “I don’t even remember going on the stage.”

Many had him pegged as a second-rounder, but Jay Feaster, then the Flames general manager, said he believed Jankowski could be the best player to come out of the 2012 draft. How’s that for expectations?

“There’s always going to be some noise but I just try to control what I can control,” Jankowski said. “There’s going to be expectations and people saying stuff, but I can’t control any of that. Just work hard and try to get better.”

‘I had goosebumps’

Jankowski now has played more than 400 NHL regular-season and playoff games. He once scored four goals for the Flames in the final game of the 2017-18 season. He scored the winning goal against the Canes for the Preds in a January 2023 game, on a night when goalie Juuse Saros had a franchise-record 64 saves.

He was not given a qualifying offer by the Flames and released, then spent a season with the Penguins. He went to the New Jersey Devils 2021 preseason training camp on a professional tryout contract (PTO), but the Devils released him and his only option was to sign a contract with the Rochester Americans, the Buffalo Sabres’ American Hockey League affiliate.

But Jankowski made the most of it. He had five goals and 12 points in his first 13 games and played well enough to earn a contract with the Sabres.

“It was kind of a crazy time when New Jersey let me go,” he said. “But I got the AHL deal in Rochester. I think that was the best thing for me, to gain that confidence back and get my game back and get to where I am now.”

Where he is now is starting a new chapter with the Hurricanes. And what a first page.

“Any time you get a new start, whatever kind of player you think you are, you want to make sure you put that foot forward,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Monday. “It obviously helps when you get a couple of goals. That’s the bonus part of it.”

And the cheers from Canes fans after his first two goals?

“I had goosebumps,” Jankowski said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever heard a building that loud.”

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Deputy Regional Sports Editor Justin Pelletier contributed to this report.

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