After their seven-game homestand, the Carolina Hurricanes traveled to Washington, D.C. to take on the Washington Capitals. The last time these two teams met, the Capitals defeated the Hurricanes 4-1 on Nov. 11. The Hurricanes were looking to build off their previous win on Tuesday, Dec. 9, against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Capitals looked to build off their win against the Blue Jackets as well. After the final horn, the Hurricanes defeated the Capitals 3-2 in a shootout.
Game Recap
The first period did not see any goals, but there were chances on both sides. The Capitals had a couple of close chances, but Brandon Bussi was able to get the saves the Hurricanes needed. There was one that he stopped on Alex Ovechkin, who was in his office in the left faceoff circle. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes were all over Logan Thompson with a barrage of shots. However, he kept the game scoreless as well through the first period.
Related: Hurricanes’ Brandon Bussi Has Been A Lifeline in the Crease
After the first 20 minutes of the game, the Hurricanes outshot the Capitals 13-4. As the period drew on, it felt like they tilted the ice in their favor towards the end of the opening frame, especially getting looks on the power play.
Carolina Hurricanes left wing Nikolaj Ehlers celebrates with Hurricanes center Logan Stankoven after scoring a goal against the Washington Capitals (Geoff Burke-Imagn Images)
The second period saw a pair of goals, one from each side. The Capitals got on the board first as Connor McMichael blew past the Hurricanes’ defense near the blue line and was able to get to the loose puck first. He beat Bussi five-hole after softly letting it do on the backhand. However, the Hurricanes would respond eight minutes later. Nikolaj Ehlers scored his seventh of the season after grabbing a loose rebound following a Logan Stankoven shot. He also scored five-hold, this time on Thompson. After 40 minutes of play, it was 1-1 with the Hurricanes outshooting the Capitals 29-9 (16-5 in the second period).
Related: Carolina Hurricanes’ 3 Stars of November
The third period saw two goals, one from each side, just as the second period did. Nic Dowd made it a 2-1 game, following a pass from Rasmus Sandin for his second of the season. The Hurricanes responded six minutes later after Stankoven was able to beat Thompson for his sixth of the season, tying the game 2-2. The game went through an overtime scoreless and had to go to a shootout to figure out a winner. Seth Jarvis scored the lone goal of the shootout, but that’s all that mattered. Bussi made all three saves to secure the win for the Hurricanes.
Bussi became the first goalie in NHL history to win 10 of his first 11 starts. Furthermore, he is on an eight-game winning streak. The Hurricanes move to 19-9-2 on the season. They have a Saturday-Sunday home-and-home back-to-back against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Capitals fall to 18-10-3 on the season. Their next game is on Saturday, Dec. 13, against the Winnipeg Jets.
