Hurricanes shut out Capitals in Game 3, take lead in Eastern 2nd Round

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Frederik Andersen made 21 saves, and the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Washington Capitals 4-0 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Lenovo Center on Saturday.

Jack Roslovic had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes, who are the No. 2 seed from the Metropolitan Division and lead the best-of-7 series 2-1. Game 4 will be here on Monday (7 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS).

“We didn’t like our game in Game 2 (a 3-1 loss on Thursday), and we needed to respond,” Andersen said. “That was textbook Hurricanes hockey. It took a little while, but we got that lead and kept it going.”

Logan Thompson made 24 saves for the Capitals, the No. 1 seed in the Metropolitan and the East.

“Once we get down, it’s a tough spot for us,” Washington coach Spencer Carbery said. “As a team, it gets off track, and our puck play after that wasn’t great.

“They’re the best defensive team in the League for a reason. You have to work constantly for your offense. It’s hard, but that’s the challenge: staying with it [in the] first period, second period, third period. You’re going to have to go win pucks."

Andersen made two big stops in the first three minutes of the game, first making a right-pad save on a Tom Wilson breakaway attempt at 26 seconds, then another pad save against Taylor Raddysh from the right hash marks at 2:25.

“Clearly, that was the key to our win tonight was that first period,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “They were on their game and we were a little on our heels. It’s what goaltending does. It kept us in the game. I thought we got it a little bit in the second half of the game, but it could have been a lot different if we’re chasing it.”

The Capitals outshot the Hurricanes 9-6 in the first period.

“If we find the back of the net there, I think we open the floodgates and we’re able to find a few extra goals,” Washington defenseman Jakob Chychrun said. “I think once we get one here, we’re going to be rolling. [I have] all the confidence in the world for the next game. I have no doubt about this group. We don’t feel worried, we don’t feel out of it.”

The Hurricanes took a 1-0 lead at 12:34 of the second period. Nic Dowd won a face-off in the right circle for the Capitals, but Andrei Svechnikov beat Washington defenseman John Carlson to the puck and scored on a snap shot past the blocker.

“I think that's huge, especially when it's 0-0, tight game,” Svechnikov said. “They played great. We give them credit. Our first period was a little bit sloppy, but we came hard the second period just continued doing that."

Dowd said of the play, “It [stinks]. It’s the playoffs. Things like that are going to happen. I’m not going to think about it after [this]. Every single game of every series has something. You’ve got to stick with it. Long series. You’ve got to be consistent. Keep with it.”

Roslovic extended the lead to 2-0 with a power-play goal at 18:57. He took a pass from Brent Burns and scored on a snap shot from the left circle that beat Thompson on the short side.

Roslovic returned to the lineup in Game 2 after being a healthy scratch the previous three games.

“It’s a really deep team, a really good team, so it’s nice to come back and try to help the guys out as best I can,” the forward said. “It’s just the mentality of our power play. We try to get it in and set up as quick as possible and [get] everything to the net.”

Eric Robinson pushed it to 3-0 on the rush at 3:14 of the third period. After receiving a pass from Logan Stankoven in the neutral zone, he skated past Carlson before chipping the puck over Thompson’s blocker.

"It's obviously big," Robinson said. "You always want to contribute. In the playoffs, the moments are bigger so it's nice to get one to go in."

Jackson Blake scored on the power play at 16:44 for the 4-0 final, taking a rebound off the end boards and slipping the puck under Thompson.

NOTES: Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin has been held without a point in the series (eight shots) after having five points (four goals, one assist) in five games against the Montreal Canadiens in the first round. … Wilson had a game-high 11 hits in 17:58. ... Carolina forward Jordan Martinook blocked a shot by Pierre-Luc Dubois in the third period and played just one more shift ending at 11:00 because of an undisclosed injury. There was no update on him. … The Hurricanes, who were 31-9-1 at Lenovo Center during the regular season and tied the Los Angeles Kings (31-6-4) for the most home wins in the NHL, are 4-0 here in the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season. … Svechnikov has seven points (six goals, one assist) in eight games during the playoffs. … The shutout was Andersen’s fourth in 79 playoff games.