WASHINGTON — Knowing full well the chances of being competitive in their second-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes hung in the balance, the Washington Capitals flipped the script from the opener in a big way in Game 2.
Tom Wilson had a monster performance with a couple of blocked shots, an assist on the winning goal and the empty-netter that sealed a 3-1 victory Tuesday night. From Wilson down, the Capitals looked far more like themselves and showed they could skate with the Hurricanes and seize some opportunities needed to beat them.
“It was much better, there’s no doubt about that,” coach Spencer Carbery said. “We feel like we can punch back.”
Connor McMichael scored on a breakaway, John Carlson got a power-play goal off a textbook cross-ice pass from Wilson, and Thompson stopped 27 of the 28 shots he faced. The Capitals started slow before starting to look like the top seed in the Eastern Conference, dictating their style and not getting hemmed in their end for long stretches.
That was essential after they were they were thoroughly outplayed in the series opener, an overtime loss.
“The first game didn’t go our way, weren’t too happy with that: Got outplayed pretty bad there, so I think it was a really good response by our group,” said McMichael, who scored after the puck hit Hurricanes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere in the neck. “We were moving pucks quicker. I think we weren’t hanging onto it and looking for the perfect play. We were kind of just getting it out of our zone and forcing them to make plays.”
At the other end of the ice, Thompson kept up his stellar goaltending that helped the Capitals get past Montreal in five games in the first round. Chants of “LT! LT!” filled the arena just about every time Thompson made a stop and halted play.
“He kept us in the game,” captain Alex Ovechkin said. “He gave us confidence.”
The Hurricanes got 18 saves from Andersen and a power-play goal from Gostisbehere with 10:34 left but could not erase their deficit. The last team this postseason to be perfect on the penalty kill, entering 17 for 17, their streak was broken on Carlson’s goal.
“We weren’t certainly great, that’s for sure, and you’ve got to give Washington credit — they played a much better game,” coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “They dug in. We knew it was going to be like this. This is not surprising. Just got to regroup.”
Up next
Game 3 is 6 p.m. on Saturday in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes won all three of their home games in the first round against New Jersey and 31 of 41 during the regular season.