The Washington Capitals got whipped something mighty by the Carolina Hurricanes. The first postseason game Raleigh has seen in a decade was a one-sided beatdown, though maybe that’s not a good choice of words.
Warren Foegele gave the Hurricanes their first lead of the series with a slow-dribbler, the lone goal of the first period. He struck again in the second period as a Final Destination-quality series of mishaps befell Caps defenders. Dougie Hamilton’s power-play point shot gave the Canes a three-goal lead, which he added to with another goal in the third period. Things got goofier in the third period, and Brock McGinn made it a fiver.
Canes beat Caps 5-0. Caps lead the series 2-1.
But first, rules are rules. soɯɐlıɐq!
- We’re not entirely sure what happened, but Micheal Ferland left the game halfway into the first period and did not return. We think it was this collision with Tom Wilson, but maybe we’ll know more later.
- Andrei Svechnikov just turned 19. He’s under 200 pounds. Alex Ovechkin is 33. He weighs 7,000 pounds and eats his breakfast cereal with the blood of a kodiak bear he personally murdered with his bare hands over a gambling debt. Svechnikov, in his rookie wisdom, started a fight with Ovechkin. So Ovechkin punched Svechnikov fully out of the game. The Canes lost their second top-nine forward of the night, so obviously they were in serious troub–
- Oh, never mind. Despite having just ten forwards, the Hurricanes throttled the Capitals, dominating every shift, visibly frustrating the visitors, who got virtually no offense in the second period. Shots on goal in the second period were 18 to 1. It was, well, you know.
- In the interest of fairness, the Caps’ top line was a sole bright spot. Even with a tight matchups from Hamilton/Slavin, the Ovechkin line held their own. Early in the game, it sure seemed like they’d take over this game. Reader, that did not happen.
- By the third period, the Carolina crowd booed loudly every time Ovechkin touched the puck. I consider that a bold revisionist interpretation of the text. The BrightBurn of the loffs. PNC Arena was definitely feeling good for their first home game of postseason play in a long time. They were very loud in the final ten minutes. I was happy for them maybe a tiny bit.
- Listen, I don’t want to get into a thing where I defend Christian Djoos‘ play. He hasn’t been good. But the two Canes goals he’s been on the ice for in the last two games have something in common beyond Djoos’ getting outworked in the paint, and yes I’m being cryptic. Anyway, for Game Four, I suspect…
- In the third period, Haydn Fleury cross-checked TJ Oshie in the throat, which seems really painful to me, though I work a desk job and I consider myself debilitated by chronic dry eye, so maybe don’t trust me. The Caps had two power-play opportunities in the third period and did nothing with either.
#JoeBSuitOfTheNight #CapsCanes Game 3. Navy and red! A Caps pocket square. pic.twitter.com/xglsZXoEaI
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) April 15, 2019
Did you really think this was gonna be easy? Don’t sleep on the Carolina Hurricanes. Down two games to none, they retreated to home ice and put a hurting on the defending champions. It had been years since the Caps have been outplayed as badly as they were in this game.
The Canes are a good team, and this was always going to be a long series. But I’m not dispirited. That was not a normal game. The Caps can get back. See you back here on Thursday.
