"State Capital > Nation's Capital": 2024-25 Regular Season, Game 10: Hurricanes vs. Washington Capitals

Two hot teams met in Raleigh on Sunday night as the Hurricanes welcomed the Capitals to the Lenovo Center. The Canes returned from their road trip by decimating the Boston Bruins 8-2 on Halloween to earn their fifth straight victory. The Capitals were playing the second half of a back-to-back after jumping on Columbus early in a 7-2 win over the Blue Jackets on Saturday. With two teams at the top of the division facing off for the first time this season, it marks the first huge test for the Canes against another Metropolitan opponent. 

Scoring Summary
1st Period
CAR (14:01)- Dmitry Orlov (2) (Martin Necas (11))
WSH (19:16)- Alex Ovechkin (7) PP (John Carlson (7) & Dylan Strome (13))
WSH (19:49)- Brandon Duhaime (2) (Nic Dowd (2))
2nd Period
CAR (2:29)- Martin Necas (6) (Eric Robinson (4) & Jesperi Kotkaniemi (7))
CAR (5:26)- Dmitry Orlov (3) (Martin Necas (12) & Jalen Chatfield (1))
3rd Period
CAR (19:51)- Andrei Svechnikov (5) EN (unassisted)

My Thoughts
Tonight felt like a rare feat for the Carolina Hurricanes. This season, we've been treated to several games where the entire lineup gets in on the action. Tonight, five guys did the lion's share of the scoring. Jesperi Korkaniemi, Martin Necas, Eric Robinson, Dmitry Orlov, and Jalen Chatfield combined to score eight points. They were the only players on the scoresheet until Andrei Svechnikov scored the empty-netter in the final seconds. Necas led the way with another three-point contest, while Orlov burned his old team by scoring twice, including the game-winner early in the second period. Chatfield's secondary assist on the game-winner was his first point of the campaign, giving every Hurricanes skater at least one point this season. The top line was dangerous, combining for 15 shots, but they couldn't get anything past Charlie Lindgren.

The start we're seeing from Martin Necas is starting to have stark parallels to Eric Staal in 2005-06. Staal began that season with 18 points in ten games, including a hat trick in the team's tenth game against the Flyers. Necas has the 6-5 edge against Staal in multi-point games, but Staal's next two games were a four-assist game against Pittsburgh and a two-goal, one-assist performance against the Maple Leafs. If Necas can pick on two teams struggling defensively to finish the homestand, he could maintain his pace with Staal. Whether he maintains that pace or not, seeing this side of Necas has been incredible through ten games. It feels like he'll do something special with the puck every time he touches it.

I know the Hurricanes won this game, but I'd be remiss if I didn't give my thoughts on Alex Ovechkin's pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record. The way he's playing right now, Ovechkin might get the job done this season. With his goal tonight, Ovechkin has 860 in his career, putting him 34 away from tying Gretzky. When the Capitals got their 5-on-3 late in the first period, aliens the next galaxy over knew Ovechkin was scoring. My brother and I both called it before it happened. Brent Burns had done a good job of taking Ovechkin away as an option, but Sean Walker gave him just enough room to fire from his office in the left dot. He let Pyotr Kochetkov hear about it, too, which the Canes' netminder took in stride during his postgame interview.

With ten games behind us, it's the perfect time to look at where the Hurricanes are. While it's too early to care about the standings, there are only two teams with better points percentages than the Canes, and both are out west (Winnipeg- .900, Minnesota- .818). Their special teams are both off to great starts. Everyone in the lineup is pulling their weight. Both goalies have been good. They thrived during their early-season road trip. It feels like everything is clicking in Raleigh. If they can put together a winning record during their next ten-game segment, the Canes might be in business. 

When We Meet Again- The Hurricanes will be in the nation's capital before Christmas, visiting Washington D.C. on December 20th. They'll play twice in April to conclude the season series.

#RaiseUp First Star of the Game- Dmitry Orlov
Scoring two goals is always a surefire way to be the first star, but Dmitry Orlov seemed to do everything right tonight. Not only did he score a pair of important goals, he also drew two of the team's three penalties. Playing against the Capitals is always a big deal for him, so to see him thriving when emotions are high is fun to see. 

The Road Ahead- The final two challenges on the homestand are Tuesday and Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins, respectively. Then, the Hurricanes will force us to stay awake for three straight games out west against Colorado, Vegas, and Utah. 

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