The Carolina Hurricanes concluded their four-game road trip on Thursday night against the Metropolitan Division champion Washington Capitals. After a dominant and heated victory over the Capitals last Wednesday, the Canes have lost three straight, being shut out by James Reimer and the Sabres on Tuesday. With the trip coming to an end, the Canes needed to find a way to salvage it.
Frederik Andersen took the start for the Canes after having his win streak snapped in his last start against Boston. Shayne Gostisbehere missed the game with an upper-body injury. Charlie Lindgren was in the net for Washington. Thursday night marked Alex Ovechkin's first game as the NHL's all-time leader in goals after breaking Wayne Gretzky's record on Long Island on Sunday.
After a pre-game ceremony honored Ovechkin's achievement, the Canes spent almost the entire first period in Washington's end. An early power play didn't create a goal, but they'd break through immediately after. Andrei Svechnikov threw the puck at the net, looking for a rebound. It popped to Logan Stankoven, who did just enough to get it over the line less than six minutes in.
We felt the residuals from Wednesday's meeting as Jalen Chatfield dropped the gloves with Brandon Duhaime. Tom Wilson's brilliance shone through as well. With Jackson Blake carrying the puck to the front of the net, Wilson labeled him into Lindgren, sending his goalie hard into the net. Lindgren had the puck under him, but the contact carried it over the line, and the referees declared it a goal.
As well as the period was going, the Canes gave Washington life when Sean Walker was called for slashing. Allowing the Capitals' power play to work, Pierre-Luc Dubois redirected a pass from Andrew Mangiapane over Andersen's pad to cut the deficit in half. Washington started to find its legs in the final few minutes, but the Canes held on to their 2-1 lead after 20 minutes.
Both teams traded chances off the iron early in the second period before Washington's power play got them even. Ovechkin asserted himself physically twice on the defensive end before Dylan Strome popped a loose puck into an empty net with Andersen fighting for control. It was a fluky play that ended with the Canes' penalty kill unable to do their job again.
By the end of the period, the Capitals had taken complete control over the Canes in every area, including the scoreboard. Nic Dowd roofed a rebound chance, and Wilson powered home his own rebound past Andersen's outstretched pad to put Washington ahead by two on goals 38 seconds apart. The Canes were lucky it didn't get worse as the period ended with the Capitals up 4-2.
The Capitals came out of the second intermission and continued to play with a decided edge. However, the Canes would find a way to dent their deficit early. Jordan Martinook stood alone at the point with the puck and too much time and space. He threw it at the net and it beat Lindgren through layers of traffic to make it a one-goal game.
The push kept coming as the game, seemingly, barreled to its conclusion. The Canes would have one last thing to say about that before the horn sounded. Seth Jarvis started the play by knocking down Ovechkin's empty-net attempt. On the other end, he put himself in a great position to finish Sebastian Aho's pass and tie the game with 1:45 left.
With a point secured, the Hurricanes clinched home ice against the Devils, but a second point was still up for grabs. The Canes killed a mystifying tripping penalty called against Brent Burns after Ovechkin lost an edge. Neither side scored in five minutes, sending the game to a shootout. Dubois scored as the first shooter, and Lindgren stopped all three Carolina shots to win the game, 5-4.
The Hurricanes are in the playoffs. The Hurricanes have clinched home ice and are locked into second place in the division. They officially have nothing else to play for during the final four games of the season. While that might be a slight over-exaggeration, there is no reason to complain about anything that happens from here on. Momentum heading into the playoffs would be nice, though.
Thursday's effort was two good periods sandwiching the period that cost them two points. It's hard to play as well as they did in the first period on the road, especially as a group that has struggled away from home. The second period was deflating, but the team rebounded by playing an inspired third and erasing a two-goal deficit to salvage a situation they put themselves in.
There was plenty of bad blood left over from last Wednesday's tilt, but things were sorted out early by the fight before it remained relatively even keel the rest of the night. The game had a playoff feel to it, which is fitting for the time of year and the competition involved. If these two collide in the second round, we might see an all-out war break out for four to seven games.
Up Next: The Carolina Hurricanes have four games remaining in the regular season. They'll return to Raleigh for a weekend back-to-back against the Rangers and the Maple Leafs. The Canes finish the season on the road, battling the Canadiens and the Senators on Wednesday and Thursday. We'll await the postseason schedule release, though I'd guess Game 1 will be on April 20th or 21st.