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Cooked at home: Canes beat Caps 3-1

By Patrick Holden

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January 11, 2018 10:33 pm

One day before the Caps go to Carolina to play the Hurricanes, the Hurricanes came to DC to play the Caps. Justin Williams was back in town to visit his old friends.

The first period ended as it began, with no score.

A little over halfway through the second, John Carlson made an ill-advised pass that Jordan Staal turned into a shorthanded goal to put the Canes up 1-0. But later in the period Lars Eller tied the game at one.

Victor Rask put the Canes up 2-1 with 9:06 left in the game. Sebastian Aho iced it with an empty net goal.

Caps lose 3-1.

  • Andre Burakovsky didn’t play tonight because he’s ill.
  • Brett Connolly was set to be the healthy scratch but got a jersey due to Burakovsky’s illness. Connolly was the best Caps player on the ice in the first period. He had four shots on goal, including a dangerous chance from the slot on the power play that Scott Darling somehow kicked aside.
  • The start of Madison Bowey’s NHL career has been a little bumpy. He has looked overwhelmed at times. The Hurricanes came at him multiple times early in the game and he looked strong handling the attacks.
  • The Hurricanes first forward on the forecheck is really aggressive and it gave the Caps issues at times.
  • The Caps got a bench minor in the second period because Alex Ovechkin tossed a new stick from the bench to Tom Wilson. Honestly, this behavior should be encouraged because it’s fun. Further, Ovehkin wouldn’t be on the bench to commit this penalty if Wilson was rightfully playing on the first line with Ovechkin and Nick Backstrom.
  • What is the point of the Ovechkin/Carlson switch on the power play anyways?
  • Speaking of John Carlson, his pending unrestricted free agency has rightfully gotten a lot of attention. But what about Lars Eller? It’ll be tough to keep both, but if the cap goes up as much as expected, it may be doable. The third line without him is a scary thought.
  • Eller’s line was the best line for the Caps tonight.
  • How much longer do we really need to see top line DSP?
  • Did the Orioles trade Manny Machado yet?
  • Al Koken referenced Corsi on the broadcast tonight.


Full RMNB Coverage of Caps vs Hurricanes

Headline image: Patrick McDermott

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