The Washington Capitals are right back in their second-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes after a 3-1 win in Game 2 on Thursday night. The Caps put together a much better performance than they did in Game 1 and were rewarded for it.
Now, that was better. Not all the way there, but better.
- The five-on-five numbers are still pretty lopsided in favor of the Hurricanes from this game, everywhere other than high-danger chances, where the Capitals actually held a 9-8 edge. I don’t read too, too much into the other categories that Carolina did lead because that’s just what they do to basically every team that they play. There were certainly some spells of play, especially early, where this looked like it could be a repeat of Game 1, which is where I believe Spencer Carbery wants his team to improve when they head to Raleigh. They have “another level,” to quote him directly, and I definitely agree.
- Tom Wilson was utterly phenomenal in the win. He ended the game with two points (1g, 1a), three shots, two hits, and two shot blocks. I feel like the scorers completely robbed him of about another four hits and another two shot blocks at least. Wilson also made several incredible defensive plays to keep the Caps in front that won’t show up on any scoresheet. I don’t think you’d be wrong to say this was his best ever game in a Capitals uniform.
- The team’s other MVP of the night was goaltender Logan Thompson again. Thompson stopped 28 of the 29 shots he faced, and the lone goal he allowed was on a fluke power-play bounce that he could do nothing about. Per MoneyPuck, he saved 2.75 more goals than expected. Unreal good.
- The fourth line worked their tails off to turn the momentum in this game several times. With Anthony Beauvillier on the ice at five-on-five, the Capitals recorded six high-danger chances and allowed zero to the Hurricanes. A lot of that ice time (5:12 against Andrei Svechnikov) came against Carolina’s first line, too. Nic Dowd and Brandon Duhaime deserve shoutouts by name as well.
- Big goal from Connor McMichael, his fourth of the playoffs, which ties him with Alex Ovechkin for the team lead. McMichael’s six points (4g, 2a) are third on the Capitals behind just Wilson (7) and Dylan Strome (10).
- The Hurricanes did not lose a game on home ice (3-0) to the New Jersey Devils in the first round. The Capitals did not beat the Canes on the road this season, dropping both games by a combined 9-3 score. In the 2019 playoff series between the two teams, the Caps also lost all three games on the road in that series. Time to change all of that up.
Numbers thanks to Hockey-Reference, NaturalStatTrick, and HockeyStatCards.
