Carolina Hurricanes: Three Takeaways from Ugly Loss to Washington

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 20: Goalie Petr Mrazek #34 of the Carolina Hurricanes looks on after allowing a goal against the Washington Capitals in the second period in Game Five of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena on April 20, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 20: Goalie Petr Mrazek #34 of the Carolina Hurricanes looks on after allowing a goal against the Washington Capitals in the second period in Game Five of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena on April 20, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
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WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 20: Goalie Petr Mrazek #34 of the Carolina Hurricanes looks on after allowing a goal against the Washington Capitals in the second period in Game Five of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena on April 20, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 20: Goalie Petr Mrazek #34 of the Carolina Hurricanes looks on after allowing a goal against the Washington Capitals in the second period in Game Five of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena on April 20, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

The Hurricanes failed to take a lead in the game, much less a lead in the series last night, but come home for a game six in Raleigh, where they have played much, much better. Nothing seemed to go right last night for the Hurricanes after playing two great games in Raleigh leading up to it. The Hurricanes will look to rebound in Game 6 tomorrow night.

In a 6-0 loss to the defending champs, the Hurricanes looked lost and almost uninvolved for most of the game. I thought we were lucky to escape the first period down only one, thanks to the play of Trevor van Riemsdyk and Petr Mrazek, but things only got worse from there. The Capitals added two more in the second and three more in the third, to make the final score 6-0.

But hey, only two games ago, these same Hurricanes beat these same Capitals 5-0, in a game that was equally one-sided. The Capitals recovered, so can the Hurricanes. It helps that the Hurricanes will be back on home ice, which will be discussed later.

I trust RBA to get everyone straightened out before the game tomorrow night and look forward to seeing this team’s resolve. This has a been an incredibly resilient group throughout the season, and I think that theme will continue.

They are facing elimination for the first time this series, but come on, the Canes have been facing elimination since like January, this is nothing new. Here are the three takeaways from a terrible night in DC.

Schedule