Hurricanes stifle Capitals in Game 3 for first win of series

RALEIGH, N.C. --Warren Foegele had three points, and the Carolina Hurricanes limited the Washington Capitals to 18 shots on goal in a 5-0 win in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round at PNC Arena on Monday.

The Hurricanes trail the best-of-7 series 2-1. Game 4 is at Carolina on Thursday.
Petr Mrazek made 18 saves for his fourth shutout in 14 Stanley Cup Playoff games. Dougie Hamilton scored two power-play goals, and Brock McGinn had a goal and an assist. Jaccob Slavin and Jordan Staal each had two assists.
WATCH: [All Capitals vs. Hurricanes highlights]
"It felt like right from the start it was good," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "Where did it come from? I don't know. The guys, they understand the situation. We're in a must-win situation and I think we played like that."
Braden Holtby made 40 saves for Washington, which was 0-for-4 on the power play and had eight shots on goal after the first period.
"They were a desperate team," Capitals coach Todd Reirden said. "They were at a different level than we were at. We didn't have enough players who played up to their ability tonight."

Carolina took at 1-0 lead at 9:43 of the first period when Justin Faulk's slap shot deflected off Foegele at the top of the crease.
Foegele's second of the game gave Carolina a 2-0 lead at 6:09 of the second period. Sebastian Aho waited out a sweep check from a sliding Matt Niskanen before passing across the slot to Foegele at the right post.
"(Scoring) is nice, but it's more fun winning," Foegele said. "I think I play aggressive and I play hard. I love these moments. This is when it counts."
Hamilton pushed the lead to 3-0 with a power-play goal at 11:40 of the second on a wrist shot between the top of the face-off circles.
Hamilton made it 4-0 with a slap shot from the right circle on a power play at 9:47 of the third. Foegele got the secondary assist.
"It's obviously nice to see pucks go in," Hamilton said. "The key is moving the puck quick and trying to make the (penalty killers) move."

McGinn's short-side wrist shot at 15:35 gave the Hurricanes a 5-0 lead.
The Hurricanes outshot the Capitals 18-1 in the second period and 30-8 over the final two periods.
"Obviously it means we played well," Staal said. "We wanted to give them nothing. That was the first key. We'll take it."
Alex Ovechkin, who led the Capitals with five shots, said the effort was not good enough.
"We knew they weren't going to sit back and wait for something to happen," Ovechkin said. "We knew they were going to push. We knew they were going to play hard and they did. Tonight all four lines didn't play the right way. We didn't play our game at all."
The win was Carolina's first against the Capitals this season; they lost all four games during the regular season.
"The guys did a great job," Hamilton said. "I think we were relentless. We just kept going at them. The crowd was unbelievable. It was one of the loudest buildings I've ever played in and just so fun, so we've got to take advantage of that."

They said it

"Everything can be better. We didn't execute anything. We were slow. We didn't play with speed. They obviously played the way they wanted to play." -- Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom
"We had a lot of guys step up, especially [Foegele[. He's been a real effective player for us. He came into camp and made our team and really earned the right to be with our squad and he's been good all year. We kind of used him less, but I think he's always had the ability because he can really skate and plays pretty intense. So it's great to see." -- Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour

Need to know

Hurricanes forwards Andrei Svechnikov and Micheal Ferland each left the game after sustaining an upper-body injury in the first period. Svechnikov was injured in fight with Ovechkin at 10:59; Ferland left after three shifts. Brind'Amour did not have an update on either player. ... The Capitals are 2-for-12 (16.7 percent) on the power play in the series. Washington's one shot on goal in the second period was their fewest ever in a road playoff game. It also was the fewest shots allowed in a period in Carolina/Hartford Whalers playoff history. ... Staal had 10 of Carolina's 52 hits. The Hurricanes are 22-15 in playoff games at PNC Arena.

What's next

Game 4 of Eastern Conference First Round at PNC Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSWA, FS-CR, SN360, TVAS).