Carolina Hurricanes: Takeaways from HUGE Game 7 Win Over Washington
![WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 24: Brock McGinn #23 of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates with his teammates after scoring the game winning goal in the second overtime period against the Washington Capitals in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena on April 24, 2019 in Washington, DC. The Hurricanes defeated the Capitals 4-3 in the second overtime period to move on to Round Two of the Stanley Cup playoffs. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 24: Brock McGinn #23 of the Carolina Hurricanes celebrates with his teammates after scoring the game winning goal in the second overtime period against the Washington Capitals in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena on April 24, 2019 in Washington, DC. The Hurricanes defeated the Capitals 4-3 in the second overtime period to move on to Round Two of the Stanley Cup playoffs. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/2de725c33f15bbf5bb58802a40a67f21d12c5dc987cec40e923b740c4a223ffc.jpg)
2nd Period Takeaways
The 2nd period is where the game really started to turn around. The Hurricanes on the whole seemed to find their footing, and the Capitals seemed to let up a bit. Whether it was due to fatigue, or due to underestimation, the Capitals played a much more reserved game for most of the 2nd.
The real turning point in the game was Sebastian Aho‘s shorthanded goal 9:51 through the period. Aho found himself in a 2 on 1 situation going into Washington’s zone with Teuvo Teravainen. Aho shot the puck on net, seemingly to force a rebound to Teravainen, but the rebound trampolined right back to Aho, who skillfully whizzed it past Braden Holtby to cut the lead in half.
That's Hockey Baby! pic.twitter.com/W8yTQw0uum
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) April 25, 2019
Washington would answer relatively quickly, scoring their 3rd (and final) goal of the game just minutes later. Evgeny Kuznetsov scored his first goal of the series from a pass by Carl Hagelin. In true rally form, the Hurricanes would answer right back, as Teuvo Teravainen netted a goal off of a pass from Brock McGinn to bring the score to 3-2.
F I L T H Y pic.twitter.com/UalY4PnsVw
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) April 25, 2019
The Hurricanes defense seemed to regather themselves throughout the second, and players such as Jaccob Slavin and Justin Faulk had phenomenal defensive shifts at various points during the period. This was just the beginning of the Hurricanes’ epic comeback. The 3rd period was that much more intense.