"The Bus Driver Keeps Rolling": 2025-26 Regular Season, Game 30: Carolina Hurricanes at Washington Capitals

The top of the Metropolitan Division was on the line on Thursday night when the Hurricanes visited the Capitals. Does it matter that much, considering we're in December? Not really, but we need to find ways to make these games feel important when they really aren't. Along with potentially overtaking the Capitals, it was a shot at revenge for the Canes after the Caps took it to them in Raleigh exactly one month ago. Brandon Bussi was given the reins again, and there was no reason not to after winning his ninth start in ten games on Tuesday. We'll have to wait a little longer to see Jaccob Slavin back in action, meaning I wouldn't get my birthday "wish" this time around.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

None

2nd Period

WSH (5:00)- Connor McMichael (5) (Alex Ovechkin (16) & Rasmus Sandin (6))

CAR (13:43)- Nikolaj Ehlers (7) (Logan Stankoven (8) & Alexander Nikishin (7))

3rd Period

WSH (11:32)- Nic Dowd (2) (Rasmus Sandin (7) & Connor McMichael (12))

CAR (17:45)- Logan Stankoven (6) (Nikolaj Ehlers (14) & Jalen Chatfield (5))

Overtime

None

Shootout

CAR- Seth Jarvis

My Thoughts

Since joining the league in 2005-06, Alex Ovechkin has victimized 186 goalies. Brandon Bussi wasn't about to become #187. In the third period and overtime, Bussi made three stops on Ovechkin. The first was a pad stop on a redirection. The second was with his glove. The third was another pad save in overtime. All three chances were dangerous. All three were turned aside. They were three of the 23 stops Bussi made through 65 minutes to keep his team in the fight. Then, he added three more in the shootout, stopping all three Capitals he faced to earn his first shootout win and the 10th win of his career. He's now the first goalie in NHL history to accomplish this feat, reaching 10 wins in just 11 starts. Bussi wasn't quite perfect tonight, and I don't just mean because he allowed two goals. The second goal he allowed came about because his clearing attempt hit K'Andre Miller, preventing the Canes from getting the puck out. Still, it was another incredible effort by Bussi to earn the team two important points against a division opponent.

While Bussi was busy stopping the puck, the Canes had a tough time breaking through Logan Thompson. Never mind the three posts they hit in the second period alone. The trio of Logan Stankoven, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Jackson Blake was simply phenomenal tonight. While being responsible for two of the shots off the post, they also scored both of Carolina's goals during regulation. Ehlers and Stankoven each recorded a goal and an assist, while Blake's net-front presence on the tying goal late in the third was critical to Stankoven getting his shot into the net. Stankoven's goal also broke a 14-game goalless drought in a similar fashion that he tied Game 1 of the 2nd Round in this very building during the playoffs. It felt like this group was long overdue for a good night, and they got it at the right time.

We long dreaded games that went to the shootout, and, frankly, I still don't love them, but the Canes might have something. They've only scored two goals during their three trips beyond overtime this season. Both have been by Seth Jarvis, and both have made the opposing netminder look foolish. Jarvis got Thompson going one way before sliding the puck (and himself) into the net. Andrei Svechnikov nearly did the same thing, but he lost the puck as he tried to bring it back. The top line had a decent night without getting rewarded. Jarvis, Svechnikov, and Sebastian Aho combined for 11 of Carolina's 39 shots.

Very early in the game, Tom Wilson laid a hit on Miller behind the net, and you could immediately tell that this was going to be a tight-checking, playoff-like contest. That it certainly was. In December, it can be hard to get up for games like this, but the Canes were up for the challenge in a battle between the conference's best. The teams are now deadlocked atop the division and the Eastern Conference, with the Canes owning a slight edge with 40 points in one fewer game than the Caps. Despite that big early hit, the Hurricanes owned the edge in hits for the night (29-21), even if none of them were as booming as Wilson's. We also had a fight between Jordan Martinook and Nic Dowd, albeit a boring one. It ended with two points for the Hurricanes, so it's hard not to be happy about it. 

First Star of the Game: Nikolaj Ehlers

There were three names to pick from, with Logan Stankoven and Brandon Bussi each earning strong consideration. However, Ehlers was rolling from the very start. He recorded a game-high six shots, burying one to get the Canes on the board. His pass on Stankoven's goal didn't go where he intended for it to go, but it got the job done. 

Next Up: The Canes are taking the trip to Philadelphia to begin a back-to-back home-and-home this weekend. They'll play in Philly on Saturday before they welcome the Flyers back to Raleigh on Sunday. The team will have two days off before beginning another stretch of three games in four nights on the road, visiting Nashville and both Florida teams next week. Their final game before Christmas will be at home against the Panthers on December 23.