WASHINGTON– The Carolina Hurricanes’ first playoff game since 2009 has come and gone. For 10 of the players in the lineup for Thursday night’s 4-2, game-one loss to the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena, their first Stanley Cup Playoffs game has as well.
Now that the first game of the playoff return is finished, the focus can turn to the mixed-bag performance in game one, and what the team needs to do in the second game to achieve its goal of heading back to Raleigh with a split series.
“I thought five on five we played a pretty good game,” said captain Justin Williams after Friday’s practice. “I think they’d probably look at it and say they didn’t play their best is what I was hearing. But they’re going to come out and be better and we need to come out and be better also.”
So, how does the team do that? A better first period, for one. The playoff newcomers were up to the task in the early going Thursday, but things unraveled after Washington drew first blood, allowing the Caps to take a 3-0 lead into the first intermission.
“If you watched the first 10 minutes, to be honest with you I was expecting it to be different just because so many guys haven’t played in this big of a moment,” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “But it’s actually helped us that we have a lot of guys that haven’t played in this stage, because they don’t know it’s supposed to be different. So they just went out and played our game.”
For those players who did play their first playoff game, they now know what to expect in terms of the intensity and physicality of playoff hockey.
“First period, obviously a little nervous,” said forward Jordan Martinook. “Couple plays I wish I could take back. But other than that it was just another hockey game with the little added intensity where you want to finish every check. And you know when you’ve got the puck, somebody’s finishing on you. So you’ve just got to get the first one out of the way and I think we’ve all handled ourselves pretty good. It’ll be just another game tomorrow with the same intensity.”
Another area the Canes will want to focus on going into game two is special teams. Carolina surrendered two of those first-period tallies to a dangerous Capitals power play, and Washington finished the game 2 for 4 up a man.
Those goals came on two breakdowns in coverage, one that saw Washington forward Nicklas Backstrom left wide open in front of the net, and another left forward Alex Ovechkin unmarked up top, allowing him to follow up a rebound chance after three missed shots.
“There’s obviously a few things we need to do better,” said forward Jordan Staal. “But I think in the end, the first period special teams, stuff like that was stuff we’ve got to work on and get better. Just tighten up.”
The power play was a culprit as well, as the Canes finished 0 for 3 on the man advantage, including two opportunities to tie the game in the last nine minutes of the third period.
Power plays will be at a premium with tighter officiating in the playoffs, and Carolina will need to finish the chances it does get there.
“I say it every time: shots, tips, screens, rebounds,” Williams said. “That’s what a power play is about. Your best players are on the ice and they need to make plays. When it’s not successful, you look yourself in the mirror, you look at the video, you check it out and say, ‘Alright, this is what I can do better.’ That’s what we did today.”
All that being said, there was plenty to like from the team’s game-one performance. The Canes played a very strong game at even strength, outshooting Washington 29-18.
Carolina battled back from a 3-0 deficit going into the third period to make it one-goal game before Washington iced it with an empty netter. Rookie forward Andrei Svechnikov tallied twice in his playoff debut, making him the eighth-youngest player in NHL history to score two goals in a playoff game.
“It’s not shocking to me,” Brind’Amour said. “He’s a real good player. He’s finding his way. He hasn’t even realized, I don’t think, how good he can be. I don’t even think he’s aware of how big a moment it is, and that’s really helpful for a young guy. … Gotta figure out how to get him more ice time and get him freed up a little more. He has that ability. He’s one of those game-changing type players.”
The Canes now face a very important game two at Capital One Arena Saturday with a 3 p.m. puck drop. Although the saying goes that you aren’t in trouble in a playoff series until you lose at home, winning that game would make for a much easier road.
A win would mean the Canes return to Raleigh with momentum and capture home ice advantage. A loss essentially sets up two must-win contests at PNC Arena.
Fortunately for the Canes, there’s a lot they can build on from game one. If the team can replicate its even-strength performance from the first game, tighten up on special teams and get off to a better start, a split and Carolina’s first win over Washington this season should be well within reach.
“We came here for a split so we’re going to have to get that done,” Williams said. “I take the fact that we were resilient, we came back and we had an opportunity to win the game. Which is the case with every game we played this year but we haven’t done it against them. No better time than now.”
