"Capital Failure": 2025-26 Regular Season, Game 54: Carolina Hurricanes at Washington Capitals

Thursday night was nuts, but it's in the past now. The Carolina Hurricanes start a back-to-back on Saturday against a division opponent, so all of the celebrating subsides. They're rolling into this one, earning points in their last six games after the miraculous comeback win, and they sit atop the division. The Capitals are trying to get it figured out, and the timing of some injuries has made it even tougher. Along with Pierre-Luc Dubois' long-term ailment, both of their goalies are out, two of their key defensemen aren't playing, and Connor McMichael, who scored in the last matchup, is week-to-week. Still, the Capitals have known Canes' killer Alex Ovechkin, general nuisance Tom Wilson, and two of the highest-scoring defensemen in the league, John Carlson and Jakub Chychrun. The Capitals are desperate. It'll be up to the Canes to match it.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

CAR (13:27)- Mark Jankowski (5) (William Carrier (6) & Jesperi Kotkaniemi (7))

CAR (17:51)- Sebastian Aho (18) (unassisted)

2nd Period

CAR (4:16)- Shayne Gostisbehere (9) (Jordan Martinook (11) & Jordan Staal (11))

WSH (7:52)- Hendrix Lapierre (2) (Sonny Milano (4))

WSH (14:58)- Dylan Strome (16) (Aliaksei Protas (17))

3rd Period

WSH (13:18)- Jakob Chychrun (19) (Aliaksei Protas (18) & Tom Wilson (25))

Overtime

WSH (1:42)- Justin Sourdif (12) (John Carlson (35) & Ethen Frank (11))

My Thoughts

I'll keep this one pretty short. I didn't have as visceral a reaction to the way that the Hurricanes as the head coach did, but this was not a fun game to watch after the Canes went up 3-0. Obviously, I liked how it started. They earned their first goal, caught a break on the second one, and caught the goalie guessing on the third. For 24:16, the Canes looked to be on their way to a great road victory. Even with the lead, the Capitals were controlling the shot counter. They had 19 in the first period, which doesn't happen to the Canes. That's about where the good things ended for the Hurricanes. When the Canes hit the post to deny them a 4-0 lead, that's when it went downhill. 

The Canes didn't do a ton in the offensive zone after taking their early lead. They couldn't get Washington out of their zone. The Capitals finished the night with 42 shots, the second-most that the Canes have allowed this season. Most importantly, they scored four times to complete the comeback. They outworked the Canes in almost every capacity. However, there was one play that stood out late in the game. Tom Wilson laid a massive hit on Logan Stankoven. It looked high, with the head being the primary point of contact. It also cut open Stankoven above his eye. Instead of going to the bench, Stankoven tried to lay a hit on Aliaksei Protas. The big Russian shrugged him off, putting Stankoven out of position, and allowing Jakob Chychrun to score the tying goal. I still assert that I don't like the hit, but there's nothing we can do about it now.

Instead of harping on the negative, there were some good things to talk about. I thought the fourth line played a good game. The entire line combined to score the first goal. Jesperi Kotkaniemi kept the puck in the zone and flipped it to William Carrier, who knocked it down with his glove and settled it. He made the final pass to Mark Jankowski, who put it into the net to break the ice. Jankowski nearly got another, but he put it off the post. Sebastian Aho also got back into the scoring fun, putting his first one in the back of the net since earlier in the month against Colorado. John Carlson flubbed a bouncing puck as Aho pressured him. He made no mistake with his shot on the blocker side. Andrei Svechnikov nearly picked up his 20th point of the month in the third period, but he, like Jankowski, couldn't beat the iron.

First Star of the Game: Frederik Andersen

The Hurricanes don't pick up a point tonight without the work of Frederik Andersen. He was perfect during the 19-shot first period, completing his night with 38 stops. Andersen has been in the net for the two games with the most shots against. He couldn't get the team over the hump like he did in Denver. Still, he got them a point for his fifth straight start.

Next Up: The Canes finish their back-to-back against the Kings tomorrow night. Brandon Bussi and Anton Forsberg are expected to be between the pipes. The Canes remain at home to welcome the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night. Their final game before the break will be at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers on Thursday.