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Carolina Hurricanes Split Season Series With Caps

By Christopher Highe

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 13: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals skates on the ice against the Carolina Hurricanes in the third period at Capital One Arena on January 13, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 13: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals skates on the ice against the Carolina Hurricanes in the third period at Capital One Arena on January 13, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 13: Teuvo Teravainen #86 of the Carolina Hurricanes skates with the puck in front of Tom Wilson #43 of the Washington Capitals in the third period at Capital One Arena on January 13, 2020, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 13: Teuvo Teravainen #86 of the Carolina Hurricanes skates with the puck in front of Tom Wilson #43 of the Washington Capitals in the third period at Capital One Arena on January 13, 2020, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

When the Carolina Hurricanes Score on the Powerplay, You Get a Bo-Berry Biscuit! The Problem Is That They Didn’t.

For the first time in the 2019-2020 season, the Carolina Hurricanes didn’t convert on the powerplay against Washington. It is the first time since the Stanley Cup Playoffs, specifically the double-overtime game seven on April 24th, 2019, that they haven’t scored a powerplay goal against the Capitals. In each of the three previous games, the Hurricanes scored at least one powerplay goal.

That wasn’t for lack of trying, however. Like the rest of their offense, the powerplay units struggled to gain anything approaching momentum against a buzzing Capitals penalty kill, a penalty kill that saw only three tests in the entire game. The Canes didn’t even get their first powerplay opportunity until five minutes, thirty-three seconds into the second period.

When they finally got their first man advantage, a dumpster fire could be said to look better. That initial powerplay was an absolute let down, with no real momentum or organization to it. Their second opportunity, granted by Washington’s Eller roughly four minutes later, did little to make headway against a steadfast Samsonov and Capitals penalty kill.

Carolina’s third, and final, powerplay opportunity came with just under eight minutes left in the second period. Courtesy of Evgeny Kuznetsov. Like the previous two powerplay opportunities, this one left much to be desired. Had the Hurricanes been able to capitalize here, if nowhere else, they could likely have pulled themselves back into the contest, as the last two times they trailed after two periods in Capital One Arena, they’d pulled off spectacular overtime wins.

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