Hurricanes bested in the shootout by the Washington Capitals

Carolina put in another fantastic performance and just could not get over the line in the end. Despite holding the lead twice, Carolina could not beat their Metropolitan Division rivals. They fall in the skills competition at the end of the game and drop their third game in a row. They extend their home points streak to 14 games now, but that’s far from the main takeaway in this one.

Let’s start with the positives. Seth Jarvis got back into his first game in a while after dealing with an injury, and he looked sharp. With two goals in this one, he was by far the most productive Hurricane and he was the first star of the game in the losing effort. If Jarvis gets going again, he could be a big part in the Hurricanes starting to get back to winning ways after dropping their 3rd in a row.

Something I am choosing to take away form this game is that the youth really stepped forward for Carolina in this one. I already mentioned Jarvis coming back into the fold and playing really well, and one player I want to mention who I thought stood out was Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Kotkaniemi was generating chances and laying the body all night long, being a nightmare for those Capital defenders.

Carolina has started to show that they’re returning to their best, but they’re still not quite there yet. It’s going to be a difficult for them to get back into the victory column as they’re now 0-2-1 on this brutal stretch of games playing against 9 playoff chasing teams consecutively. This is one that the drop in the shootout and this should not spark overreaction from the fanbase. Carolina are a very talented and gifted team.

Question for Cardiac Cane readers: What do you take away from this game?