The Capitals evened the series on Thursday night, riding an exciting game from Tom Wilson and another phenomenal performance by Logan Thompson to beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 in Game 2. Shayne Gostisbehere scored the Canes' lone goal in the loss. For the next two games, the series moves to Raleigh, beginning with Saturday's Game 3.
The group remained the same for the Hurricanes. Mark Jankowski is still day-to-day, keeping Jack Roslovic in the lineup for a second game. Frederik Andersen squared off with Logan Thompson for the third straight game, trying to get the Canes back in the win column in front of a raucous home crowd at the Lenovo Center.
The first period came and went without a goal for the third time in the series. This is thanks to both goalies being on their game early. Thompson continued to look unbeatable. He came up with a huge breakaway stop on Seth Jarvis while the Capitals were on the power play. It came shortly after Nic Dowd nearly put the puck into his own net during the delayed penalty.
Thompson also got some help from the iron after Andrei Svechnikov's backhand rang the far post. On the other end, Frederik Andersen was tested a lot. He stopped an early Tom Wilson breakaway and made a great reactionary pad stop on Alex Ovechkin's redirection. The Capitals played their best first period of the series, but couldn't get one in the opening 20 minutes as the deadlock persisted.
After sitting on their heels for most of the opening period, the Hurricanes slowly started to find some life in the second. Rod Brind'Amour hoped a little line shuffling would provide a spark. Past the halfway point in the period, Svechnikov broke the ice. After Sebastian Aho was tied up on the draw, Svechnikov jumped into the play to roof one past Thompson, giving the Canes their first lead.
Late in the frame, the Canes earned their first power play of the night, and it was the second unit that found paydirt. Jack Roslovic's shot from the left dot snuck under Thompson's glove on the short side, doubling the Canes' advantage. It was the type of soft goal that Thompson hasn't allowed in the playoffs. Nevertheless, the home team entered the second intermission with a two-goal lead.
The Hurricanes started the third period by killing the remainder of a horrendous missed call by the referees at the end of the second. Then, they quickly added an insurance marker. Eric Robinson picked the corner on a guessing Thompson, who was caught deep in his net and surprised by the shot. It was another stoppable goal that helped the Canes extend their advantage.
Carolina kept grinding. They put their bodies on the line in the defensive zone. Jordan Martinook made a huge two-pad stack block on Pierre-Luc Dubois to save a goal. Jackson Blake popped home his second goal of the postseason with a late power-play goal to put the Capitals away for good. Washington failed to crack one with the time remaining as the Canes took Game 3 with a 4-0 win.
For the first time in the series, the Capitals came out of the gates on fire. They were all over the Canes in the first period, but Frederik Andersen stood in their way. His incredible first period paved the way for the offense to finally find its game. He wasn't tested as much during the final 40, though he was ready when pressed. Andersen finished with 21 stops, earning his first shutout of the postseason.
This was also the first game in the series where it felt the Hurricanes got to Logan Thompson. After Andrei Svechnikov scored the opening goal, Thompson allowed a few stinkers that he'd stopped in the first two games. Jack Roslovic's goal late in the second period felt like a big turning point in the game. If this game goes to the third period at 1-0, we might be having a different conversation.
It felt like a matter of time before Andrei Svechnikov potted one. He hit two crossbars in Game 1 and added another post early in this game. His goal was the catalyst for the Canes' offense midway through the second period. It was very fitting that he got it going. He also took his first penalty of the playoffs late, but made sure to take Nic Dowd with him while earning his team a power play.
The Canes did a great job of asserting themselves physically, too, especially against Washington's stars. Brent Burns put a shoulder into Alex Ovechkin. Jordan Martinook sent Tom Wilson flying. Logan Stankoven was a bulldog. Ten of the Canes' 12 forwards were credited with at least three hits, led by William Carrier's seven.
Game 4: The Hurricanes are ahead in the series for the second time, but there's no room for them to get comfortable. Much like after losing Game 1, I'm expecting Washington to respond with a purpose on Monday night. It'll be on the Canes to be sharper to start the game and not allow the Capitals to regain momentum in this series.