
James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
The Capitals beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 in a shootout Friday night at PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC. The win raised the Capitals record to 19-7-3. The Capitals next host the Montreal Canadiens Saturday night at Verizon Center. Puck drop is 7:00PM.
Andre Burakovsky and Taylor Chorney were the healthy scratches. This was Burakovsky’s second straight game in which he was a healthy scratch.
Philipp Grubauer got the start in goal for the Capitals. Cam Ward got the start for the Hurricanes.
News broke Friday evening that Zach Sanford was scratched in the Bear’s game, and was on his way back to Washington. He will be officially recalled Saturday morning.
QUICK TAKES
- The Canes won 12 of 15 faceoffs in the first period.
- The Capitals power play continues to heat-up as the Caps scored on the league’s top penalty kill in the second period. The power play goal was the first allowed by the Canes PK in eight games.
- The Capitals penalty kill continues to be strong.
- Justin Williams continues his hot streak with a goal. He has five goals in the last five games.
- Evgeny continues to heat up, extending his point streak to six-games (eight points during that span).
- At times, Carolina’s speed was obviously too much for the Caps.
FIRST PERIOD
A quick pace to the start of this one, with fairly even 5-on-5 play through the first five minutes of play. The Canes would be the first to light the lamp at the 5:46 mark on a close range goal by Jeff Skinner.
[HIGHLIGHT] @JeffSkinner jams one home to open the scoring. #Redvolution #WSHvsCAR pic.twitter.com/HHQ6NRaw9J
— Carolina Hurricanes (@NHLCanes) December 17, 2016
The Capitals would go on the power play at the 6:41 mark. The Capitals would have decent zone time, but were unable to move the puck inside the perimeter, and ultimately came up empty. The Canes had the league’s best penalty kill coming into the game.
The Canes would get their first power play at 16:12 when Brooks Orpik was called for hooking. The Canes mounted several excellent scoring chances but were unable to finish. The Canes were 4 of 5 on their last 5 power plays coming into the game. The period would end with the Canes leading 1-0. Canes led in shots on goal 9-5 for the opening frame. The Canes won 12 of 15 faceoffs in the period.
SECOND PERIOD
The Canes would go on an early penalty kill when Matt Niskanen was forced to hold to stop a potential Canes break away, just 20 seconds into the middle frame, but the Caps would successfully squash the Canes second man advantage of the game. The Caps would go to their second power play of the game at the 5:16 mark of the middle frame, and the Caps would cash in. Nicklas Backstrom would feed Alex Ovechkin on an odd-man rush, for Ovechkin’s 201st career power play goal at the 6:25 mark of the middle frame.
The Ovi equalizer. #CapsCanes on @csnma pic.twitter.com/y7WEqeIiyf
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 17, 2016
Matt Niskanen would be called for his second penalty of the period at the 7:18 mark of the middle frame, giving the Canes their third power play of the game. Nate Schmidt would be called for hooking, giving the Canes a 5-on-3 for 38 seconds. The Caps penalty kill would successfully fend-off both the 5-on-3 and 5-on-4 man advantages for the Canes. Justin Williams would give the Capitals a 2-1 lead at 11:13 of the middle frame on the end of a nifty feed from Evgeny Kuznetsov.
Superb feed @kuzya92
Amazing finish @JustinWilliams#CapsCanes on @csnma pic.twitter.com/tTFn7Pvesq— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 17, 2016
The Canes would tie it up with a speed goal at 13:31 by Justin Faulk.
The period would end in a 2-2 tie. Shots on goal for the period were tied 9-9. The Canes led in shots on goal 18-14 after two periods of play.
THIRD PERIOD
Nicklas Backstrom was called for holding just 32 seconds into the period and the Canes would waste no time taking the lead. Teuvo Teravainen would knock one home 40 seconds into the final frame.
TJ Oshie would tie the game 3-3 at the 13:56 mark, on a tip of a blast by Dmitry Orlov.
The Oshie-lizer! 3-3 game late in the third. #CapsCanes on @csnmapic.twitter.com/yKARU5sXFb
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 17, 2016
Regulation would end with the game tied 3-3. The Canes led in shots on goal 25-23 through three periods of play.
OVERTIME
The 3-on-3 overtime period would go scoreless. The Capitals would win it in the shootout. TJ Oshie and Evgen Kuznetsov would score the winners:
Oshie in a shootout. Guess what happens? #CapsCanes #RockTheRed pic.twitter.com/afwTnD145e
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 17, 2016
Kuzy sealed it in the shootout. Sick hands. #CapsCanes #RockTheRed pic.twitter.com/R76k3K9bhF
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 17, 2016
By Jon Sorensen
Follow @NoVa_Caps
SCENES FROM RALEIGH
#CapsCanes, Great Night to see our Caps in action here in Raleigh tonight, Go Caps! pic.twitter.com/CP0iQJzGzG
— Shea Miller (@SheaMiller82) December 17, 2016
#Canes #NHL (2/2) RT @Nick_Fazakas: puck drop at pnc arena @[me] pic.twitter.com/TSbASERkRw
— Empty Seats Galore (@EmptySeatsPics) December 17, 2016
These guys know whatsup #CapsCanes pic.twitter.com/J3r0DnIIbc
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 17, 2016
Fist 👊 bumps FTW! #CapsCanes pic.twitter.com/apJ5y9JzTe
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 17, 2016
Pingback: Game Preview: Canadiens @ Capitals | NoVa Caps
Pingback: Capitals Daily Update: Sanford Joins the Team in Optional Morning Skate | NoVa Caps
Pingback: The Offensive Minds of the New Defensive Pairings | NoVa Caps
Pingback: Game Preview: Hurricanes @ Capitals | NoVa Caps
Pingback: Shootout Struggles: What’s Going On? | NoVa Caps