Carolina Hurricanes: Takeaways from Big Win Over Capitals
The Carolina Hurricanes ousted the league-leading Washington Capitals in Raleigh last night by a score of 6-4. How did the Canes stack up to our keys to the game?
Advanced stats and keys be damned, the Carolina Hurricanes managed to defeat the Washington Capitals for the second time this season (back to back, eh, Oshie?) while simultaneously only hitting one of our keys to the game from yesterday.
Last night’s game was a great one; Hurricanes v. Capitals games usually are. Last night’s game, however, seemed to have a different kind of edge to it. An edge that only comes with (dare I say it) a hockey rivalry.
For some unknown reason, Caps fans insist (through tears and clenched teeth) that there is definitely not a rivalry between the two teams, despite the storied history between them. Given the intensity that goes along with these games, especially recently, and the inevitable social media war between Canes and Caps fans before/during/after their matchups, I’m beyond certain that a rivalry is, indeed, afoot.
Warren Foegele:
— Sara Civ (@SaraCivian) December 29, 2019
“We don’t like them. They don’t like us. It’s always fun to beat them”
All of the rivalry talk aside, the Carolina Hurricanes have seemingly stopped their skid, and it couldn’t have come at a better time against a better opponent: the leaders of both the NHL and the Metropolitan Division.
The Carolina Hurricanes played a solid game last night and walked away with a win in regulation, but didn’t manage to ‘check the box’ on 2 of the 3 keys to the game I wrote about yesterday. Let’s take a closer look at those.
1. Did the Canes Stay Out of the Box?
Nope, not even a little bit. On par with their last several games, the Carolina Hurricanes took 5 penalties last night, two of which ended up being goals for the Washington Capitals.
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Warren Foegele scored shorthanded last night, so that’s great, but the Canes somehow managed to keep the Capitals at bay on three of their five man advantage opportunities.
This kind of penalty accumulation can’t continue; the Carolina Hurricanes could’ve easily lost this one on special teams.
The Carolina Hurricanes have been collecting PIMs at an alarming rate, and more often than not, those PIMs end up costing them goals. Last night, it didn’t matter; my worry is that it will start to matter more often, much sooner than I’m comfortable with.
2. Did the Canes Figure Out the Powerplay?
Not quite. The Carolina Hurricanes did manage to score on the powerplay, but they only converted on one of their three chances with the extra man.
Last night’s lone powerplay goal brings the Canes’ powerplay tally up to three goals in their last 17 powerplays; still nowhere near sufficient to get back on track towards any level of sustained success, but much better than the latter half of last season.
The Carolina Hurricanes, on paper, have a killer powerplay unit; they should easily be scoring on a majority of their powerplays. To be fair, on most powerplay opportunities, they do look like their on the verge of scoring. The goals just don’t come.
Gonna backhand it
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) December 29, 2019
PSYCHE pic.twitter.com/tDEFIpXNDz
Luckily, this key to the game didn’t matter too much last night, as the Canes still managed to walk away with two points over the Metro Division leaders. Now, onto the last key: supporting the goalie.
3. Did the Canes Support Their Netminder?
I would say yes, more so than the last few games at least. The Carolina Hurricanes blocked 17 shots last night, and Petr Mrazek only faced 29 shots.
To only face 29 shots against a team that has the likes of Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Nicklas Backstrom speaks volumes about the defensive effort the Canes defensive corps put forth last night.
It was refreshing to see the defense show up last night more so than they have been the past few weeks. The Capitals did score 4 goals, but the scoreline could’ve been much more steep given the Caps’ offensive firepower. Let’s hope this trend continues.
Protect this boy at all costs pic.twitter.com/FZo6iqzr0z
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) December 29, 2019
4. 19. 6. 109. Final
Hot. Canes Prospect Lighting It Up at WJC. light
Question for CC Readers: What was your favorite part about last night’s huge win over the Capitals?