Cardiac Cane
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Carolina Hurricanes Look to Cap Series vs Capitals

By Christopher Highe

RALEIGH, NC - JANUARY 3: Andrei Svechnikov #37 of the Carolina Hurricanes skates near the crease as Ilya Samsonov #30 of the Washington Capitals protects the net during an NHL game on January 3, 2020 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC - JANUARY 3: Andrei Svechnikov #37 of the Carolina Hurricanes skates near the crease as Ilya Samsonov #30 of the Washington Capitals protects the net during an NHL game on January 3, 2020 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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OTTAWA, ON – NOVEMBER 9: Colin White #36 of the Ottawa Senators is tripped on a scoring chance by Warren Foegele #13 of the Carolina Hurricanes leading to a penalty at Canadian Tire Centre on November 9, 2019, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images)
OTTAWA, ON – NOVEMBER 9: Colin White #36 of the Ottawa Senators is tripped on a scoring chance by Warren Foegele #13 of the Carolina Hurricanes leading to a penalty at Canadian Tire Centre on November 9, 2019, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images) /

If you Guessed That the Carolina Hurricanes Need to Stay out of the Penalty box, You’re Right.

The Carolina Hurricanes need to be on top of their game with discipline against Washington. They may be tied at fifteenth in the league, with a team total of 373 penalty minutes, but every one of them is still a potential dagger. In the three meetings this season, the Hurricanes have had seventeen minor penalties against Washington and four powerplay goals-against.

While the Hurricanes have one of the best penalty kills in the National Hockey League (9th), their record against Washington’s powerplay isn’t the hottest. It comes in at just over seventy-three percent with Carolina defending eleven of fifteen. Using the NHL.com filters, we see that Carolina averages five times shorthanded per game against Washington in 2019-2020.

That’s five times a game that Washington’s powerplay gets a crack at the Hurricanes on the man advantage. As we saw in their last meeting, Alex Ovechkin doesn’t even need to attempt his patented one-timer for them to get the powerplay conversion. His mere presence in the top faceoff circle creates chaos and confusion on who to defend against.

And let’s not get started on Hurricanes All-Star Dougie Hamilton‘s roughing penalty during the January 3rd game. It was a prime example of a penalty not to take, as the Hurricanes offense had begun to buzz. His penalty killed any momentum that the team had. As one of the cooler heads on the roster, this penalty wasn’t only reckless; it essentially cost the Canes the match.

The Hurricanes cannot afford to continue playing against the Capitals with such reckless abandon, and a victory requires that they do not.

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