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The Carolina Hurricanes picked up a win in their first shootout of the year, beating the Washington Capitals 3-2.
No tricks, just treats 😠pic.twitter.com/l9bJqCZWRH
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) November 1, 2022
Washington managed to tie the game early in the second period though, as Frederik Andersen wasn’t able to control a rebound and it popped out to Dylan Strome, who buried it to tie the game. Then a little later in the period, the Capitals converted on a power play, with Alex Ovechkin ripping a one-timer past Andersen to give Washington the lead. While Carolina wasn’t able to capitalize on a few power play chances though, Andrei Svechnikov did manage to bury a rebound in front later in the frame to even the game once again through 40 minutes.
In the third period, Carolina controlled a lot of the play, outshooting Washington by a huge 15-7 margin. However, they weren’t able to capitalize (despite a late power play) and the game ended up continuing to overtime.
The Hurricanes had another great chance in overtime, as Lars Eller tripped up Sebastian Aho, leading to another Carolina power play. The Hurricanes didn’t capitalize once again though and neither team could break the tie, sending the game to a shootout.
The teams traded goals with their first shooters, as Brent Burns came in with speed and picked a corner on Darcy Kuemper, while Evgeny Kuznetsov came incredibly slow and outwaited Andersen to even it out. However, Andrei Svechnikov made a nice move to beat Kuemper as the next shooter, while Andersen stopped Alex Ovechkin. Martin Necas shot next and while he couldn’t end the game, Andersen stopped Dylan Strome as the final shooter, securing a 3-2 shootout win over Capitals.
Overall, it was a solid win for the Hurricanes, outshooting Washington by a huge 35-20 margin. The Capitals have been plagued by injuries, with several top players sidelined at the moment, and Carolina took advantage.
Defensively, the Hurricanes did a good job limiting both shots and quality chances. Offensively, Sebastian Aho’s line was a bit invisible but generally, most of the team’s forwards were generating chances throughout the night. I'll highlight Martin Necas specifically as well, with two more assists tonight, making for a total of 13 points in just nine games.
The one point of improvement could come with capitalizing on power play chances. While the Hurricanes did score a goal on the man advantage tonight, they still went 1-for-6 overall and really didn’t even generate many chances on their 4-on-3 in overtime, lacking some urgency and intentionality.
Regardless, it’s another win against a competitive Metropolitan opponent and gives the Hurricanes sole possession of top spot in the division.
The Hurricanes will be back in action on Thursday, when they face the Tampa Bay Lightning.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM OCTOBER
Hurricanes sign Calvin de Haan Hurricanes sign Grigorii Dronov Hurricanes’ opening night roster announced Hurricanes open season with 4-1 win over Blue Jackets Hurricanes defeat Sharks to kick off Western road trip Hurricanes beat Kraken for third straight win to open season Andrei Svechnikov's hat trick not enough as Hurricanes fall to Oilers Hurricanes take early lead but lose to Flames in overtime Hurricanes wrap up road trip with win over Canucks Hurricanes lose to Islanders, trade Ethan Bear to Canucks Hurricanes rebound for overtime win against Flyers