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Carolina Hurricanes: Three Keys to Game 2 vs Capitals

By Tony Trotmann

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 11: Braden Holtby #70 of the Washington Capitals follows the puck against the Carolina Hurricanes in the second period in Game One of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena on April 11, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 11: Braden Holtby #70 of the Washington Capitals follows the puck against the Carolina Hurricanes in the second period in Game One of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena on April 11, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 11: Braden Holtby #70 of the Washington Capitals follows the puck against the Carolina Hurricanes in the second period in Game One of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena on April 11, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 11: Braden Holtby #70 of the Washington Capitals follows the puck against the Carolina Hurricanes in the second period in Game One of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena on April 11, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images) /

The Carolina Hurricanes suffered a 4-2 loss in their first playoff game in a decade; Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to the defending Stanley Cup champions, Washington Capitals. Game 2 is right ahead and the Hurricanes should look ahead to pick up a valuable road victory.

Game one is done and over our shoulders. We should look to game two today. However we would be remiss if we didn’t take a quick look behind us and take some lessons learned from our first playoff loss since Westlife was still a popular boy band.

In the first period alone, the Hurricanes saw a 3-0 deficit against the Capitals with tallies from Washington’s top line; Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, two of the goals coming from the power-play. The Capitals went two-for-two on the power-play in the first period.

In the second period, the Hurricanes limited the Capitals to few high-chance opportunities and kept the Capitals to only five shots. Although the Hurricanes had eight shots and good chances, Braden Holtby stood strong and made miraculous saves to keep Washington ahead with three goals to none.

The third period, the Hurricanes came out strong as Andrei Svechnikov would not only tally his first career playoff goal, but also his second in his first National Hockey League season. Playoff Svech is looking to be a very real thing.

https://twitter.com/NHLCanes/status/1116517996128808960

Although the Hurricanes were able to get the game within one to tie it, unlike what the Columbus Blue Jackets did to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 of their series, the comeback came up short and one of two opportunities to get a win on the road early to get momentum is gone.

So, what needs to change in the second opportunity for Game 2 at Capital One Arena?

Well, here are the three keys to ensuring a victory in Game 2 before they come back home to Raleigh on Monday:

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