Hurricanes Blow Over Capitals, 5-1

Posted on November 12, 2016 by Jon Sorensen
caps-canes1
AP Photo/Gerry Broome

The Washington Capitals fell to the Carolina Hurricanes 5-1 on Saturday night in Raleigh. The loss dropped the Capitals record to 9-4-1 for the season. The Capitals next face the Blue Jackets in Columbus on Tuesday. Puck-drop is 7:00 PM. 

capitals-at-hurricanesPhilipp Grubauer got the start in net for the Capitals. Cam Ward got the start between the pipes for the Carolina Hurricanes.

Brett Connolly got the start tonight on the 4th line with Jay Beagle and Zach Sanford. Connolly was a healthy scratch for the last four games.

Taylor Chorney and Daniel Winnik were the healthy scratches for this one.

 

FIRST PERIOD
The Capitals came out and immediately applied significant pressure in the offensive zone in the early going. However, the Hurricanes would gain an advantage in offensive zone time, midway through the period. Phillip Grubauer was strong from the start, making several nice saves to keep the game scoreless through the midway point of the opening frame.

The Capitals would be called for the game’s first penalty, as Matt Niskanen was tagged for a delay of game penalty when one of his exit passes sailed over the glass. However, it would be the Capitals Evgeny Kuznetsov that would notch a shorthanded goal on a nice feed from Dmitry Orlov at the 12:02 mark of the opening frame.

Unfortunately, like the night before in Chicago, the Capitals would yield an equalizer less than a minute later. The Hurricanes Sebastian Aho would tie the game 35 seconds later.

Teuvo Teravainen would give the Hurricanes the lead at the 17:01 mark of the opening frame.

The period would end with the Hurricanes leading 2-1. The Hurricanes outshot the Capitals 15-5 in the first period.

SECOND PERIOD
The second period started much like the end of the first, as the Hurricanes continued to fire away at Philipp Grubauer, but Grubauer would continue with his strong play. Andre Burakovsky began taking top-line shifts with Ovechkin and Backstrom from the start of the second period.

The Capitals returned to the penalty kill when Alex Ovechkin was called for slashing at the 4:36 mark of the middle frame. The Hurricanes would capitalize on the Ovechkin penalty when Jordan Staal knocked home an easy rebound at the 5:59 mark.

The Capitals would receive their first power play at the 8:17 mark of the middle frame. The power play unit would manage several shots, but ultimately could not find the back of the net.

The Hurricanes stretched the lead to 4-1 on a goal by Victor Rask at the 10:37 mark of the middle frame.

The period would end with the Hurricanes leading 4-1. The Hurricanes outshot the Capitals 16-10 for the period, and 32-16 through the first two periods.

THIRD PERIOD
The Capitals were unable to generate any kind of offensive drive in the following frame, as it was clear this night would go the way of the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes would add an empty net goal by Sebastian Aho at 16:10 of the final frame to seal the victory for Carolina.

By Jon Sorensen

About Jon Sorensen

Jon has been a Caps fan since day one, attending his first game at the Capital Centre in 1974. His interest in the Caps has grown over the decades and included time as a season ticket holder. He has been a journalist covering the team for 10+ years, primarily focusing on analysis, analytics and prospect development.
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5 Responses to Hurricanes Blow Over Capitals, 5-1

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