Washington Capitals (46-24-8 100pts) v. Carolina Hurricane (42-28-7 91pts)
Game Recap:
The Washington Capitals tonight conclude their season series against the Carolina Hurricanes on the road at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. Each teams traded goals in the first period. Goals were scored by Nino Niedereitter of the Hurricanes and Brett Connolly of the Capitals. The first period would end with both teams 1-1.
In the second period, we did not see much action until the 12:30 mark when Warren Foegel scored a highlight reel worthy goal to take the lead for the Hurricanes. The Capitals would have an opportunity on the power play later on in the period but were unable to convert. After two periods, the Hurricanes would take a 2-1 lead going into the third period.
Period three saw a lot of action as each team traded scoring chances. The Capitals would tie it up early in the period at the 1:35 mark on a Jakub Vrana goal. At the 15:04 mark, the Capitals would take the lead on a Nic Dowd goal which was deflected in front of the net on a Nic Jensen shot. The Hurricanes came close to tying the game towards the end but, the Capitals were able to hold on and get the victory with the final score being 3-2. As a result of tonight’s victory over the Hurricanes, the Capitals officially clinched a playoff spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Capitals continue their road trip on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Lineups:
Washington Capitals:
Forwards
Alex Ovechkin- Nicklas Backstrom- Tom Wilson
Carl Hagelin- Evgeny Kuznetsov- Andre Burakovsky
Jakub Vrana- Lars Eller- Brett Connolly
Chandler Stephenson- Nic Dowd- Travis Boyd
Defenseman
Christian Djoos – John Carlson
Dmitri Orlov – Matt Niskanen
Brooks Orpik – Nic Jensen
Goalies:
Starter- Braden Holtby
Backup- Phoenix Copley
Scratches:
Dmitry Jaskin, TJ Oshie (illness), Jonas Siegenthaler
Injury: Michal Kempny (lower body)
Carolina Hurricanes:
Forwards
Nino Niedereiter- Sebastian Aho- Justin Williams
Andre Svechnikov- Jordan Staal- Teuvo Terravainen
Michael Ferlund- Lucas Wallmark- Jordan Martinook
Warren Foegele – Greg McKegg- Brock McGinn
Defenseman
Jacob Slavin – Dougie Hamilton
Brett Pesce – Justin Faulk
Calvin de Haan – Trevor van Riemsdyk
Goalies
Starter- Curtis McElhinney
Backup- Petr Mrazek
Scratches: Saku Maenalanen
First Period:
Carolina Goal-4:31- Nino Niedereiter (22) assisted by Justin Williams (28) & Sebastian Aho (51)
Washington Goal-5:13- Brett Connolly (22) asssited by Brooks Orpik (7)
End of 1st – WAS – 1 CAR – 1
Shots 7 5
Faceoffs 7/16 9/16
Hits 6 10
PP 0/0 0/0
Second Period:
Carolina Goal-12:30- Warren Foegele (8) assisted by Justin Faulk (24) & Brett Pesce (20)
Carolina Penalty-16:01- Justin Williams 2 minutes for tripping
End of 2nd – WAS – 1 CAR- 2
Shots 16 16
Faceoffs 10/31 21/31
Hits 10 20
PP 0/1 0/0
Third Period:
Washington Goal-1:35- Jakub Vrana (23) assisted by Evgeny Kuznetsov (49) & Christian Djoos (8)
Washington Goal-15:04- Nic Dowd (7) assisted by Nic Jensen (17)
Washington Penalty-15:45- Brooks Orpik 2 minutes for tripping
End of 3rd – WAS – 3 CAR – 2
Shots 20 26
Faceoffs 18/46 28/46
Hits 19 25
PP 0/1 0/1
Next Up:
Washington Capitals (45-24-8 98pts) v.s. Tampa Bay Lightning (59-14-4 122pts)
Carolina Hurricanes (42-28-7 91pts) v.s. Philadelphia Flyers (37-32-8 82pts)
