The Washington Capitals did battle with the Carolina Hurricanes in a Stadium Series game preview on Tuesday night. The short-staffed Caps fought to the end but were unable to come away with any standings points in a 3-2 regulation loss.

They deserved more from that game.

• The Hurricanes did their usual thing and controlled the puck for most of the game but I thought the Caps did a really nice job defensively on them and were able to create the majority of the high-danger chances at five-on-five. The game finished 14 to 9 in favor of the home team in that category.
• But, at the end of the day the Caps still don’t have the finishing talent to tilt a game like this one in their favor. In 2023, the Caps are averaging just 2.53 goals per game which has them sitting 28th in the NHL. That is not going to work, folks.
• Joe Snively had a huge game in his return to the lineup. The Herndon, Virginia native recorded the primary assist on TJ Oshie’s goal and potted one of his own later in the matchup. It was the second multi-point game of his career.

Dmitry Orlov has been credited with an assist on the Capitals’ first goal. It marks Orlov’s 196th career assist, moving him past Sylvain Cote (195) for the eighth-most assists by a defenseman in franchise history.

— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) February 15, 2023

• Snively’s line with Dylan Strome and TJ Oshie was the Caps’ best on the night as well. At five-on-five with that trio on the ice, the Caps out-high danger chanced the Canes 5 to 0.
• Sonny Milano had a really active night and was probably unlucky not to score. He tallied seven shot attempts, five shots on goal, five individual scoring chances, and three individual high-danger chances. Should not bench this guy.
• The Caps lost the first game post announcement that Alex Ovechkin will be taking a leave of absence for personal reasons. With the rumored returns some teams could be getting for their complementary pieces at the deadline, it may be time the Caps think about jumping in on that business if things keep heading in that direction. They have a ton of impending unrestricted free agents.
• Just to be clear, I’m not trying to be overly negative or anything but there are going to be some major assets flying around and not a ton of teams are playing the seller role right now. It could be a really good chance to reload. Or…the Caps could win their next three games and we’ll be talking about the exact opposite. I’m just playing devil’s advocate.

Numbers thanks to Hockey-reference.com and NaturalStatTrick.com.