Capitals Beat Hurricanes 3-2 In Final Home Preseason Game; Brian Pinho Scores Twice

Posted on September 21, 2019 by Jon Sorensen

Photo: NHL via Getty Images

The Washington Capitals downed the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 Saturday night at Capital One Arena. The Capitals posted first period goals from Brett Leason and Brian Pinho to jump to an early 2-0 lead, and added another goal from Brian Pinho in the third period and held on for the victory. The Capitals now hit the road for the final three games of preseason, with their first stop in Chicago Wednesday night. Puck drop is just after 8:00 PM eastern.

GAME STATS

STARTERS
Ilya Samsonov got the start in goal for Washington. Pheonix Copley was the designated backup for this one.

FIRST PERIOD
The Capitals would strike first. After killing 40 seconds of a 5-on-3 penalty in the early going, Brett Leason would snag a puck in the zone and rip a one-timer, going high-glove on Forsberg at 8:44 of the opening frame. The goal was unassisted. The errant pass by the Canes was created from pressure by Liam O’Brien in the corner.

The Capitals would make it 2-0 with a nice steal and dangle by Brian Pinho at 16:00 of the first period.

The first period would conclude with the Capitals leading 2-0. The Capitals outshot the Hurricanes 6-5 in the first 20 minutes. Carolina was 0 for 2 and the Capitals 0 for 0 on the power play in the opening frame.

SECOND PERIOD
The Capitals and Hurricanes skated to a scoreless draw in the middle frame. The Capitals lead in shots on goal 8-4 for the second stanza, and 14-7 after two periods. The Canes were 0 for 3 and the Capitals 0 for 0 on the power play after 40 minutes. Carolina lead 17-13 in hits after two periods. Capitals penalty kill was the difference through the first two periods.

The Hurricanes lead in shot attempts 17-10 in the first frame, with the Capitals leading in attempts 12-10 in the middle frame.

THIRD PERIOD
The Capitals would stretch their lead to 3-0 with a goal from Brian Pinho at 8:31, his second goal of the contest. Garret Pilon and Lucas Johansen were credited with the assists.

The Hurricanes would answer moments later with a dirty goal down low from Brock McGinn at 11:30, making it 3-1.

The Hurricanes would close the gap to a single goal with a tally from Janne Kuokkanen at 14:54 of the final frame.

That would be the final.

NOTES

  • Ilya Samsonov stopped 13 of 15 for an .867 save percentage.
  • Capitals lead in shots on goal 20-15.
  • Faceoffs were 50-50%.
  • Hurricanes were 0 for 3 and the Capitals 1 for 2 on the power play.
  • Selected with the Capitals’ 2019 second round pick, Leason scored 89 points (36g, 53a) with Prince Albert in the WHL, helping the team win the WHL Championship last season.
  • Pinho recorded 12 points (4g, 8a) last season with Hershey, and he led the Capitals with five points in three games at the 2019 Prospect Showcase, which took place earlier this month in Nashville.
  • This was the Hurricanes first regulation preseason loss under head coach Rod Brind’Amour (7-1-1).

SCENES FROM THE DISTRICT

https://www.instagram.com/p/B2sck1PB6tX/?igshid=13wfnj8d7e6vq

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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