The Canes had momentum going into Game 5 in Washington. They were coming off two straight, crowd-rocking wins in front of the Caniac Faithful at PNC Arena in Games 3 and 4, the second of which was a close 2-1 win. The series was tied at 2 apiece.
None of these proved to help much, as the Canes lost 6-0 to the Washington Capitals in Game 5 this past Saturday night, putting them on the brink of elimination. Nothing was going right for them.
Five power play opportunities, no conversions. Mrazek only stopped 22 of the 28 shots he faced, leading to a undesirable .786% save percentage. Five guys had at least three shots, with Aho leading the way with seven of those.
No goals. Nothing was going right for the Canes on Saturday night. After being able to keep the deficit at 1-0 after the first period on a goal 7:33 into the period by Caps’ 2019 Stanley Cup Playoff hero Nicklas Backstrom, the Canes were on the right side looking in.
But then came the second period. Backstrom scored again, and Caps defenseman Brett Connolly added a goal of his own. Things were not looking good. But if you remember Game 1, you remember that the Canes were down 3-0 after two periods.
The Canes certainly looked to use Game 1 as a motivator. But no matter how many man-up opportunities they got, or how many clean shots they put on Holtby, the Canes could not get anything going. Unfortunately, the Caps broke through with three more third period goals: one from top-line winger Tom Wilson, one from center Nic Down, and one from winger Alex Ovechkin.
The Canes were outplayed. Luckily, they get to go back to Raleigh in front of the Caniac faithful for Game 6, the final home game for the Canes of this series, where they have won each of their first two home games.
One question I have: even though Mrazek is the Canes’ starter in net, should Brind’Amour give McElhinney a chance in net, even though it is elimination time? McElhinney has proven to be reliable for the Canes, and a strong performance from him could give a tired Mrazek a much needed rest.
If the Canes want to win, they need to score first, as the team to score first in each of the first five games have won. Aho needs to get it going. Guys need to step up.
Take Warning.
