Carolina Hurricanes: Game Three Takeaways vs. Capitals

The Carolina Hurricanes were desperate for a win against the Capitals to avoid going down 3-0 in the series. The Hurricanes did just that in a dominating 5-0 win in the first playoff game in PNC Arena in a decade.

The Carolina Hurricanes gave the Caniacs that have been aching to see them back in the postseason, a performance these fans will never forget. North Carolina needed this for hockey and the Hurricanes were out to prove they belong in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

After dropping the first two in Washington D.C., the Hurricanes put their mark on this series. They did so in the most dominating and exciting of ways.

This game can be a defining moment for a potential playoff run. Shutting out the defending Stanley Cup champion is one thing, but controlling almost the entire game is on a whole different level. The sense of urgency from the Hurricanes was evident all game.

There were key moments that defined this game, in terms of its physical nature, offensive output, and special teams. We examine game three period by period and take away all of the important factors, which led to the eventual Hurricanes victory.

1st Period Takeaways

The story of the first period was the fight between Andrei Svechnikov and Alex Ovechkin. Svechnikov was lost for the game after a punch that sent Svechnikov to the ice that resulted in the back of his head hitting the ice. That immediately led to trainers being sent onto the ice to check on him and it took some juice out of the home crowd.

Jordan Staal was whistled for interference about a minute after that and the Hurricanes killed it off, which in turn brought the crowd back into the game after the unfortunate injury to Svechnikov. This penalty kill was huge in gaining the momentum of the game for the Hurricanes.

The Hurricanes finally got off to a start they wanted when Warren Foegele made the Hurricanes lead 1-0. This gave the Hurricanes their first lead of the series and they never looked back from here. This jolted Foegele to become more aggressive on the offensive end especially after being elevated in the lines after Svechnikov’s early exit.

This was Petr Mrazek’s most active period of the game, stopping all nine shots he faced this period. Most of the Capitals scoring opportunities occurred in this period. But none of these chances were really that special as Mrazek had a relatively quiet night.

The physicality of this period was on full display as bodies were being thrown around and it seems the referees at times were losing their grip on the game. After each whistle there always seemed to be some sort of altercation that may have happened as a result of the fight earlier in the first period.

3rd Period Takeaways

The Hurricanes early on in the third period had to kill off two penalties and the penalty kill did not disappoint. The Capitals didn’t get a single shot off on either power play as the Hurricanes were forcing shots wide of the net and making entry into the zone very difficult. Ovechkin, due to what he did in the first period, was showered with boo’s when he touched the puck, an obvious show of displeasure for what he did to Svechnikov.

The Hurricanes were given another power play opportunity, which offered similar results to the power play in the second. Dougie Hamilton blasted another shot passed Holtby as the lead was upped to 4-0. Hamilton needs to see time on the power play with Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen, Nino Niederreiter, and Justin Williams. All of their playmaking ability will be able to make setting up Hamilton at the point easier.

Brock McGinn late in the third furthered the lead to 5-0 as he riffled one passed Holtby. This got the PNC Arena crowd into a complete frenzy as the fans were anticipating the finish of the Hurricanes first playoff win since May 14, 2009.

This led the Hurricanes players to start playing off of the crowd for the remainder of the game. They were starting to get more physical, finishing checks to the delight of many of the Caniacs in attendance. Just listen to the crowd as the final seconds ticked off. Absolutely amazing.

Question for CC Readers: What was your favorite moment from the Hurricanes huge game three victory?