Three Things:
1) Tonight Was An Off Night, Start To Finish
It was a very atypical evening from the opening puck drop until the final horn tonight for the Canes. Per
NaturalStatTrick.com
, the team had zero high danger chances in the first period, a statistic fitting the lack of threats in the opening 20 minutes.
The zest that the Carolina offense had shown over their recent seven-game point streak was not apparent throughout and Washington was able to capitalize on that.
These games happen over the course of an 82-game marathon. Thankfully they have not happened often.
2) Penalties Kill
A big reason why the Canes were behind the eight ball early and then couldn't find any flow to their game was because there was a constant parade of players going to the penalty box. Five different skaters took penalties in the first 33:42, forcing the shorthanded units to continuously work.
While Carolina may have the league's best penalty kill, they were against one of the biggest power play threats in the game in Alex Ovechkin, who scored one of Washington's two power play goals.
3)Onward To Tomorrow
The Canes get right back to work tomorrow night at PNC Arena against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Pittsburgh, who earned a win in Tampa tonight, now sits just three points behind Carolina for the top spot in the Metro Division and will be coming to town with a league-leading 19 wins away from home this season.
They Said It:
Rod Brind'Amourpost-game on what gives him confidence the team can bounce back tomorrow night...
"We've got quality people in there. They know they didn't play a great game. It's tough to analyze that game too much because we were in the box so much. We just couldn't get going. When we did, I thought we did some good things. We never quit and the guys played hard, right? We had a decent third, but the game was over. We didn't come out right and we took all those penalties. That's just a tough game to figure out."
Brady Skjeion what has to be different this time Friday night...
"The biggest thing is that we need to stay out of the box. I think we had six minor penalties and against a team like that with their power play makes it pretty tough to win. I took two myself, so I can do a better job at that. We have to move past this game quickly."
What's Next?:
The team flies back to Raleigh post-game and will play again tomorrow night against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Bonus Notes:
Worth A Click:
Stadium Series Event Details
Canes, Caps Rivalry Heads Outside
Jarvis Adjusting To Life In The NHL
Hurricanes March Schedule
