"Tom & Logan": 2025 Postseason, Round 2, Game 2 (CAR leads 1-0): Hurricanes at Washington Capitals

Game 1 will go down as a performance the Canes should've gotten more from, but will be satisfied with the victory. Despite an incredible edge in shots, it took overtime for the visitors to take the first game after Jaccob Slavin's shot navigated through traffic to beat Logan Thompson. With the Capitals nice and pissed off, the expectation was for a much better effort in the second game. The Capitals managed just 14 shots, including three in the final 23 minutes. There was no chance we'd see the same game a second time.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

None

2nd Period

WSH (2:16)- Connor McMichael (4) (unassisted)

3rd Period

WSH (1:54)- John Carlson (1) PP (Tom Wilson (4) & Dylan Strome (8))

CAR (9:26)- Shayne Gostisbehere (2) PP (Seth Jarvis (4) & Sebastian Aho (6))

WSH (19:00)- Tom Wilson EN (3) (Aliaksei Protas (1))

My Thoughts

Having written after every Hurricanes game since the 2021 playoffs, I occasionally find myself being repetitive with some of the things I say. One common saying is something along the lines of "one moment doesn't cost a team the game". Tonight, the Hurricanes allowed their first power play goal, conceding the eventual game-winning goal to John Carlson early in the third period. Who took the penalty leading to the goal? Brent Burns after he fumbled a puck in the neutral zone and hooked Brandon Duhaime. It was one of several instances on Thursday night when Burns failed to properly play the puck, leading to a golden Washington opportunity. Burns played 20:26 tonight, just 20 seconds less than Jaccob Slavin, including pivotal moments late in the game down a goal. There are only so many ways I can say that Burns shouldn't be on the ice in those moments. Naturally, that means he's going to do something incredible late in a game during this series. I have nothing but respect for what Burns has done. There is no chance it happens, but Iron Man streaks don't carry into the playoffs. I'm just saying.

Two things can be true. Logan Thompson has been phenomenal during the first two games of this series. He has only allowed three goals through two games. However, the Canes haven't made life difficult enough for him. They've thrown a lot of stuff at the net. Some of it has hit the net and some hasn't. There hasn't been enough traffic in front of Thompson in this series. The lone exception was on Slavin's OT winner on Tuesday. Thompson hasn't been forced to make any otherworldly stops. The pressure at times has been relentless, but the shots haven't been difficult enough. The Canes' stars haven't been good enough either. There hasn't been enough carryover from the New Jersey series. Granted, the Capitals are a much tougher animal to conquer. 

If I have to hear about Tom Wilson one more time, I might lose my mind. His highlights in the first period included a horse-collar tackle on Andrei Svechnikov that wasn't called and a missed hit against Jordan Martinook because Martinook was smart enough to duck. Jordan Staal almost helped him to the Washington bench with a hit during the period. Wilson eventually landed some hits, set up the Carlson goal, and scored the empty-netter to seal the win for the Capitals. Wilson is a good player whose entire personality is being a tough guy until something happens to him. Sebastian Aho gave him a few extra cross-checks while Wilson was on the ice late in the game, causing Wilson to complain, as if he hadn't done that countless times in his career. Would my tone change if he were a Hurricane? Maybe. 

It's very important that we understand the position the Hurricanes are in right now. They are now tied with the top team in the Eastern Conference, with the series returning to Raleigh for the next two games. I didn't expect the Hurricanes to win both games in D.C., though it was there for the taking tonight. Instead, they'll settle for a split with home ice now in their favor. Washington is a good road team, but the Hurricanes beat them twice in Raleigh during the season, including a 5-1 win a little over a month ago. If the Hurricanes can hold their ground and win both games at the Lenovo Center, they're in a good spot. If they split, Game 5 becomes the most important game of the season. If they lose both, the fat lady might start getting ready to sing.