Hurricanes 5, Capitals 0
There just isn’t much to say after a performance like that. The Caps were dead in the water five minutes into Monday’s game at Carolina down 2-0. That deficit would grow to three goals when Alex Ovechkin knocked the puck from his own teammate. By the time he and Troy Brouwer realized neither had the puck it was too late. The Hurricanes were already racing up ice.
Mathieu Perreault was below the goal line. That left an easy 3-on-2. And while it’s easy to make fun of Carolina given it’s spot at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, you do so at your own peril. There is still plenty of skill on that squad, after all. Brandon Sutter threaded a pretty pass beyond the reach of defenseman Jeff Schultz and teammate Andreas Nodl slammed home the one-timer for a 3-0 lead. There were
First, the save Justin Peters made on Mike Knuble in the slot at 3:17 of the first period set the tone. The Caps could have been up 1-0. Instead Roman Hamrlik takes an elbow at the other end of the ice. On the ensuing power play the Caps’ penalty killers are too passive and Tim Brent had all the time he needed to fire a shot on Tomas Vokoun. His rebound control was poor and Mike Green was so deep in front of the net he didn’t have time to get out on Brent or even block the shot. Really all he did was serve as a screen – though I wouldn’t put much of the blame on him.
The next goal? The video won’t lie. Marcus Johansson was awful. Skates onto a loose puck in the defensive zone. But as he turns up ice he doesn’t realize Anthony Stewart has jumped up to pressure him. The puck is poked away – Johansson never even made it out of the zone because his skate was still touching the blueline - and Mike Green jumps up to try and push it out. But he whiffs and Johansson loses a battle with Jiri Tlusty at the line as the lineman yells play on. That leaves Schultz all alone on a quick 2-on-1 and he had no chance. Tlusty’s pass was out of reach for a poke check. Eric Staal has the puck on the right wing now. And Johansson couldn’t get to his feet quick enough to catch Stewart, who had circled back and now had a full head of steam. That became a serious problem when Staal’s attempted cross-ice feed was partially blocked by Schultz. Unfortunately, Stewart beat everyone to the spot – Jay Beagle was the one who hustled up to try and stop him, but far too late given where he started from after the turnover – and Vokoun was easily beaten. Just 5:09 into the game his night was finished.
Jason Chimera’s golden chance to get one back at 16:42 failed. The puck skidded behind Peters yet somehow rolled wide of the open net like a coin on its side. Chimera corralled it, but couldn’t get his arms free to finish the move. Peters fell on it and it remained 2-0. Until Ovechkin unleashed his inner Teen Wolf, at least. Not sure why he went after the puck that aggressively when it was his own teammate in possession.
Now, I have zero context for this stat. But the Caps have now allowed 23 goals in the final 80 seconds of a period this season. That seems high to me. Thirteen of those goals have been at even strength, six on the penalty kill, four with the net empty and one while on the power play. In the final minute of a period that number is still 19 goals allowed.
They might as well have called the rest of the game. Brouwer and Matt Hendricks both fought a Carolina player in the second period to try and spark their team. Didn’t work. Washington later allowed a short-handed goal after a terrible back pass by Johansson on the power play. Put a little blame on Dennis Wideman there for diving to keep the puck in the offensive zone. Stay on your feet and live to fight another day. Instead, Wideman goes down, can’t keep it in and Staal was off to the races for a short-handed goal. Brutal. Staal added one more for good measure in the third period at even strength.
Not much time to regroup. But a win at Ottawa on Wednesday could put the Caps back in first place in the Southeast Division. Provided, of course, Winnipeg loses to Philadelphia at home on Tuesday. Remember, the Jets also have jumped the Caps in the standings. Beating the Senators would at least mean a 2-2 road trip with one of those victories a critical win over Florida. It’s not much to go on, but after that effort it’s about all I’ve got.
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