Dec. 17 vs. Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena
Time: 6:00 p.m.
TV: MNMT, NHLN
Stream: MonSports.net/Stream
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, Capitals Radio 24/7
Washington Capitals (14-9-4)
Carolina Hurricanes (16-12-2)
On Sunday night in Raleigh, the Caps finish up a three-game road trip and a set of back-to-back games, and they also get their first look at the Carolina Hurricanes this season. Washington comes into Carolina winless on the trip to date; after a 4-3 shootout loss in Philly on Thursday, the Caps suffered a 3-1 setback at the hands of the Predators in Nashville on Saturday night.
The Caps lost a late lead on Thursday in Philadelphia, and they weren’t able to get the lead on Saturday in Music City against a Preds team that was playing for the second time in as many nights. Nashville took an early lead on a power-play goal in the first, and the Caps pulled even when T.J. Oshie scored on a 5-on-3 man advantage in the early minutes of the second period.
Washington put plenty of offensive zone heat on the Predators for much of the remainder of the second, but too many of its offensive zone forays were of the none- or one-and-done variety, and the lengthier offensive zone shifts didn’t result in enough good looks from prime scoring areas to solve the formidable Juuse Saros, who won his sixth straight start, and won for the 10th time in his last 11 decisions.
“They were doing a good job of blocking some shots,” says Oshie. “Their goaltender played great. For as much momentum as it seemed like we were generating there for a little while, our puck play through the zone – and sometimes to our end – just wasn't clean enough to really wear down a team on the second night of their back-to-back.
“I think the game probably could have went either way. But when you catch a team [on a back-to-back] – they're in Carolina [Friday] night, traveling back and then getting in late – you need a better start, and you need to wear them down from the start. And in the first period, they took it to us.”
Charlie Lindgren played another strong game in the Washington nets, keeping the Caps within a goal after they mustered only four shots – two of them from more than 150 feet from the Nashville net – and then the Caps went to work in the Nashville end in the middle period, easily their best frame of the game. But Washington wasn’t able to get enough good looks from the middle to beat or even test Saros.
“Certainly there was that one long stretch of five minutes or so, and we did get a few good ones in there,” says Caps’ defenseman John Carlson. “But yeah, it’s kind of the same old story we’ve been talking about, of trying to break through. Some games, they’re falling in, and in a lot they’re still just not going. We’ve got to impose our will a little bit more in the middle [of the ice].”
While the Caps were in the midst of that dominant stretch, both of their blueliners jumped up into the play, and Nashville forward Cole Smith alertly poked a puck into neutral ice, springing Philip Tomasino on a breakaway. Tomasino scored what would prove to be the game-winner just after the midpoint of the second, and Nashville tacked on an insurance marker early in the third.
“I felt like we built so much momentum in the second, that a goal would have put that momentum over the edge,” says Oshie. “I think we would have had a really good chance to close it out. That breakaway goal really deflated a lot of that momentum that we had. You want to get it back.
“Fortunately, we play again [Sunday]. We can put this one behind us, and maybe focus on some cleaner plays through the neutral zone, in the [offensive] zone, and cover up a couple of things structurally that led to losing [Saturday].”
Carolina also lost to Nashville in its most recent game, dropping a 6-5 overtime decision to the Predators in Raleigh on Friday night. The Canes have had difficulty gaining traction in the first third of the season; their longest winning streak to date is a three-game run from Oct. 26-30.
The Canes were seeking a second three-game winning streak in Friday’s game against Nashville, and they had multiple leads in the game and led for much of the contest. But Carolina couldn’t hold a 5-3 lead, as Nashville struck for the last three goals of the game, culminating with Filip Forsberg’s overtime game-winner in the first minute of the extra session.
Last season, Carolina finished with the second fewest goals against in the NHL, an average of 2.56 goals against per game, second only to Boston’s 2.12. But thus far in 2023-24, Carolina has been for 3.27 goals against per game, ranking in a tie for 21st in the League.
