The Carolina Hurricanes went off for the second straight game, downing the Washington Capitals 6-1 on the road on Monday, March 28.
Following a 7-2 blowout win over the St. Louis Blues just two days prior, the Canes (44-15-7) put together another team win as five different players notched multiple points against the Capitals (37-20-10). Center Martin Nečas led the way with two goals and an assist.
“We got pucks to go in, which is what we’ve had in a lot of our games,” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “In a lot of our losses, the pucks just haven’t gone in. We played solid, we got good goaltending when we needed it and we capitalized on our chances.”
Centers Max Domi and Vincent Trocheck, left wing Teuvo Teräväinen and defenseman Brady Skjei also put up multipoint nights as 12 different Hurricanes got involved in the scoring. After Carolina had seven multipoint performances in St. Louis, the continuation of team hockey spelled continued success for the Canes.
“These guys are such a deep team,” Domi said. “… There’s so much talent here and I just wanted to be a part of that because every night there is a new guy that’s clicking and a new line that’s going, and sometimes you have four lines going. So eventually, you just want to trust that the puck is going to go in and the last couple of games that’s been the story, just scoring.”
The Caps didn’t make it easy for the Hurricanes, however, as they bruised Carolina on the boards by outhitting them 45-26. The physicality and lopsided scoreline led to a series of skirmishes across the latter two periods, including a fight between defenseman Brendan Smith and Tom Wilson, as well as a blindside hit by Lars Eller that injured center Jesperi Kotkaniemi in the final seconds.
“[Kotkaniemi]’s injured, we don’t know how bad but he’s definitely out,” said Brind’Amour. “The game’s over, there’s two seconds left. I don’t like it.”
Of course, there was hockey being played too. Thanks to a pair of goals by center Derek Stepan and Nečas, the Canes got on top of the Capitals early with a 2-0 lead at the first intermission. Carolina never relinquished that lead as center Sebastian Aho, defenseman Brett Pesce and Nečas lit up the scoreboard in the second to set up a 5-1 Canes lead after two periods. Wilson scored Washingtons’ lone goal of the night early in that period as well.
Carolina made good use of the faceoff circle to maintain its advantage, winning 61% of the faceoffs to keep the puck in its control and prevent Washington from setting up any quick goals. When Washington did gain possession, goaltender Frederik Andersen did his part by stopping 25 of 26 shots by the Caps.
The Canes will complete their three-game road trip on Tuesday, March 29 as they travel south to Tampa Bay to take on the Lightning. Puck drops at 7 p.m.
