WASHINGTON – Coming off of a hard-fought, 2-1 win against the Canadiens, the Hurricanes were looking to push themselves closer toward the playoffs against the division-leading Washington Capitals.
For much of this game, the Hurricanes hung close with the Capitals. After the Caps got on the board with a goal from T.J. Oshie at the 3:31 mark of the first period, the Canes would answer back in the second period at the 4:22 mark on Dougie Hamilton’s 15th goal of the season.
Put this in perspective: the Canes’ strong defensemen were able to limit the Caps, a team that had 260 goals coming into the game, to one goal through two periods. With a roster that includes former U.S. Olympian T.J. Oshie, All-Star Alexander Ovechkin, and offensive stars Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom, that is not an easy task to do.
Petr Mrazek played a big role in this, too: against the Minnesota Wild, he stopped 24 shots en route to a 5-1 win. Coincidentally, he stopped 24 shots against the Capitals, too.
In this game, the Canes were able to put 28 shots on the Caps’ Braden Holtby, with Hamilton leading the way with four of them. And there were plenty of chances all night long for the Bunch of Jerks.
Unfortunately, however, the Caps were able to break through with three third-period goals from Ovechkin, John Carlson and Backstrom, whose goal was an empty-netter after Mrazek was pulled for an extra attacker. Ultimately, the Caps would end up taking this one from the Canes, 4-1, inside Capital One Arena.
The Canes do not have a lot of time to dwell on this loss, as they have a quick turnaround, coming back home to host the Capitals on Thursday night. The Canes still hang on to their first wild-card spot, one point ahead of the Montreal Canadiens, and three points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets, who blanked the New York Islanders two nights ago, 4-0, closing in on Montreal.
In order to win on Thursday against the Capitals, which would be their first of the season against their divisional rival, the Hurricanes will, for one, have to put more goals on the board. With the Caps being a team full of offensive superstars, one goal is not enough to top them.
In addition, the Canes will have to do a better job of keeping the puck out of the hands of the Caps’ stars, or at the very least, limit their opportunities.
It will be interesting to see which Canes team we see on Thursday night: the one who dominated the Minnesota Wild in a 5-1 drubbing, or the one who failed to get much going two nights ago against the division leader.
In Canes country, we know that we can beat the Capitals. We have beaten countless potential playoff teams this season. Any win, especially in crunch time, is a sweet victory. But it is even sweeter when it is against the defending Stanley Cup Champions, and even moreso when it is against arguably your biggest divisional rival.
