Coming off a historic comeback victory over the Utah Mammoth on Thursday night, the Carolina Hurricanes took a trip to the nation's capital for their final dance of the season with the Washington Capitals. The teams have split their first two meetings, with the road team scoring victories in the other's barn.
The Hurricanes deployed the same group from their victory on Thursday, with the only change coming in the net. Frederik Andersen sought to extend his point streak to five games while trying to get the team its tenth win in January. Things for the Capitals are a bit rougher. Injuries are tearing through the group, especially in the net. Clay Stevenson made his second career start as a result.
There were a lot of pucks thrown at the net in the first period, but the Canes were the only team to find paydirt. Mark Jankowski got the party started, finishing an excellent shift from his entire line with the first past Stevenson. Late in the frame, John Carlson flubbed a puck. Sebastian Aho was there to clean it up, scoring his first goal since January 3 to put the Canes ahead 2-0 after 20.
Things were looking good for the Canes early in the second. Shayne Gostisbehere caught Stevenson guessing to triple the lead, getting Gostisbehere his third goal in two games. Then, the Capitals got some life. Hendrix Lapierre jumped on a loose puck in the crease to break the shutout, and Dylan Strome redirected a beautiful pass from Aliaksei Protas. All of a sudden, it was 3-2 Canes.
The Caps carried their momentum into the third period. They kept throwing everything at Andersen. He bent, and, eventually, the Canes broke. A hit behind the net by Tom Wilson on Logan Stankoven kicked it off. I didn't love the hit, especially since Stankoven didn't see it coming, and it was to the head. Either way, Jakob Chychrun scored. The sides stayed tied at three, sending us to overtime.
What proceeded was one of the worst displays of 3-on-3 hockey imaginable. Aho took a bad shot right off the hop. Gostisbehere tried passing it to two players who were changing. They turned the puck over what felt like a dozen times. It all culminated in Justin Sourdif scoring after John Carlson made legal contact with Andersen. The league said it was okay, so the Canes lost it, 4-3.
The Canes allowed a lot of shots, and that's a concerning trend
For the second Saturday in a row, and the second time in three games, the Carolina Hurricanes were heavily outshot by their opponent. Last weekend, it was the Ottawa Senators completely running wild, throwing 36 shots at Brandon Bussi. The Senators nearly doubled up the Canes, 36-19. Tonight was a lot of the same from the Capitals.
The Canes are usually one of the best shot-suppression teams in the league, but seeing them give up 19 shots in one period, let alone 42 in a game, is crazy. It's the second-most they've allowed this season, behind only their clash with the Avalanche in October, and the third time they've allowed 40 in a game (Florida). Coincidentally, all three have involved the Hurricanes blowing a big lead.
Frederik Andersen was just about the only reason the Hurricanes got what they did. He has now been in the net for both games with the most shots against. Andersen saved their skins in Denver, but he couldn't do it again tonight. I'm sure we'll find a way to blame this loss on him, even if it wasn't really his fault. He has points in five straight games, so he's giving his team every chance to win.
Three big moments stand out as major turning points
There is something about the goal post on the end that Washington attacks twice that doesn't like the Hurricanes. In December, the Canes hit that post three times before scoring a goal. Tonight, up 3-0 and looking for more, Mark Jankowski hit it with Clay Stevenson down and out. Instead of 4-0, the Capitals eventually scored to make it 3-1.
Still in the second period, the Canes drew their only two penalties of the night, giving them a 5-on-3 chance. They got nothing out of it, passing the puck way too much to find the pretty chance, instead of throwing something at the net. The Capitals kill it, and less than two minutes later, they cut the deficit to one goal.
Last, but certainly not least, you have the hit behind the net by Tom Wilson. I didn't like the hit, as I previously stated. It's a brutal hit. There's no question about it, but Logan Stankoven has to stay within himself and play the game. There's no reason to seek retaliation. Of course, it leads to the tying goal. Frankly, the Canes were lucky to earn a point.
Additional Thoughts
There were still plenty of things to like from most of the lines tonight. I really enjoyed the way the fourth line played. Their goal to kick things off was pretty, with all three forwards playing a part. I also thought the top line had great moments. Getting Sebastian Aho back in the goal column was big, and Andrei Svechnikov nearly scored again, hitting the outside of the post.
Overall, it's a sour way to end the month, but the Canes now have at least one point in 12 of their last 13 games (9-1-3). They've hit a small bump in the road over their last few, but they're finding ways to collect points anyway. They'll have to have short memories, turning right around to play at the Lenovo Center tomorrow.
Up Next: The Carolina Hurricanes complete their back-to-back on Sunday in a late afternoon battle with the Los Angeles Kings. I expect that we'll see Brandon Bussi and Anton Forsberg in the net after Darcy Kuemper started on Saturday for the Kings. Next week, the Canes stay at home to welcome the Senators to Raleigh before finishing at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers.