After an entertaining and fun even if imperfect season-opening win at PNC Arena on Thursday, the Hurricanes stirred a bunch of fun memories for game 2 with a trip to Washington, D.C. The game was appropriately billed as a rivalry game, no doubt carried some ill will and was the Capitals home opener to boot. In short, high drama for an early October tilt.
The game lived up to expectations in terms of entertainment value and added another dose of Canes fan fun at the expense of surely annoyed Caps fans. But in terms of the event itself, I was actually a bit surprised at the modest level of physicality and animosity in the game. T.J. Oshie ran McGinn in front of the net with no puck in sight. Wilson of course finished his checks. But there were no actual fights, and I actually thought the level of intensity, physicality and nastiness was pretty modest.
As for the game, the Hurricanes had the upper hand from the early going, but Braden Holtby held the fort. In the early going, Martin Necas and Sebastian Aho were both stoned on breakaway chances and Joel Edmundson clanged the post from between the circles. Along the way, the Hurricanes mounted an early shot and territorial play advantage but received nothing to show for it on the scoreboard. Washington’s top players were fairly quiet throughout the first period, but Washington struck first late in the first period when Joel Edmundson missed Erik Haula with a short pass in his own end. When the puck found Garnet Hathaway’s stick, he took a quick stride and fired through James Reimer from close range to post the Capitals to an undeserved 1-0 lead which is how the first period would end.
Early in the second period, the Hurricanes dialed up the pressure and seemed ready to dominate a game against a Caps team that had played and traveled the night before. But just when the Hurricanes seemed ready to pour it on and break through, the team instead went on a penalty binge. Including a carry over from the first period, the Canes had to and did kill off four penalties in the second period. The Canes penalty kill deserves a huge amount of credit for keeping the team in the game, but at the same time, the run of shorthanded play relieved pressure for the Capitals. When T.J. Oshie scored just past the midway point of the second period, the Capitals were in the driver’s seat despite maybe not having their best effort. A couple more Canes penalties pushed the game to the third period with the Caps up 2-0.
But similar to Thursday’s game, the Hurricanes just kept pushing. When Erik Haula scored his second goal of the season on the power play only 2:36 into the third period, the Canes were back in it. The play was reminiscent of a pretty passing play from Teravainen to the back door just like on Thursday except this time Haula found the back of the net. The Canes tied the game on another pretty play when Jaccob Slavin fed the puck forward to Warren Foegele and then blew by everyone to fill the center lane. The play finished with an incredibly skilled score when Slavin received the puck to his hand, put it down and quickly finished at something close to full speed. And just like that, the Hurricanes were back in the game. The remainder of the third period featured some frenetic play with both goalies being required to make big saves to hold at 2-2.
At the point when the Hurricanes pushed to overtime and claimed a point in the standings, the game was a road success. And when the Capitals gained an overtime power play, it looked like that would be all the Hurricanes would get. But more penalty kill and James Reimer heroics somehow kept the puck out of the net for seven shots before the Hurricanes received the one shot they needed. After another round of Capitals attacking, Jake Gardiner found the puck on his stick on a 2-on-1 with room to operate. Just at the moment where he had to decide on pass or shoot, Gardiner sniped the Hurricanes first shot of overtime around Holtby and into the net.
The win pushes the Hurricanes off to a great 2-0 start heading into the weekend finale against Tampa Bay at PNC Arena on Sunday night.
Notes from the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 overtime win over the Washington Capitals
1) James Reimer
I actually did not think Reimer was great through about two-thirds of the game. The cause of the first goal was a defensive zone turnover, but instead of forcing the shooter to pick a corner to beat him, he was a tiny bit slow reacting under duress and had the puck go through him and into the net. The second goal saw him make a save but have no control of the rebound or idea where the puck was which made it possible for Oshie to bat it into the net before Reimer could find it. And he also had another puck beat him far side from a bad angle but luckily be waived off because he was bumped.
Reimer was not bad through the first half of the game, but he was not great either. And the story of the game was Holtby’s play at the other end of the rink.
But when the team desperately needed to hold the fort to stay in the game, Reimer did exactly that. He was perfect on the penalty kill and played his best hockey in the second half of the game when the Hurricanes were battling back. Along the way, he had a couple saves on point blank and breakaway saves. He made two crazy contortionist type saves. And he somehow survived the crazy power play flurry in overtime. When all was said and done, Reimer rose from being okay-ish to very clearly being a key component in a comeback win.
2) The penalty kill
Along with James Reimer, the penalty kill deserves a ton of credit for holding this game at 2-0 long enough for the Canes to strike and climb into the game. That combined with the crazy overtime kill puts the penalty kill in the mix for the first star in the comeback win.
3) Brett Pesce
Jaccob Slavin and Jake Gardiner will deservedly grab headlines for their skilled game-tying and game-winning goals, but I thought Brett Pesce quietly as always played a notch above his usual high level. Early in the game, the Caps seemed to want Ovechkin out against Edmundson/Pesce. Pesce stymied him repeatedly by stepping up, challenging and mostly disarming any attacks. Pesce, along with all of the penalty killers, deserve credit for keeping the game in reach in the second period against a dangerous Capitals power play.
4) Blue line scoring
Through two games, the blue line has featured prominently in four of the five Hurricanes goals. Slavin and Gardiner scored on Saturday. Necas’ and Haula’s goals on Tuesday came off of rebounds on Hamilton shot, and Wallin’s came on a tip and then rebound on a Pesce shot. At least early on, the blue line has proven to be an offensive catalyst which is encouraging.
5) Erik Haula
What stands out about Haula’s early productivity is its simple formula. Haula, especially on the power play, spends a ton of time within a step of the crease which is obviously a good place to be for goal scoring. In addition to just being where goals happen, Haula seems to have good hands and a knack for positioning and timing.
6) Teuvo Teravainen
As the forward equivalent of Brett Pesce as a quiet but significant contributor, Teravainen mustered a couple more heady passes for great scoring chances including the pass that led to Haula’s back door tip goal.
7) Points matter!
The Hurricanes now have four out of four possible points. After a long history of digging holes in October and only once climbing out of it, the Canes community knows as well as anyone that October points are just as important as February and March points. So far so good.
Next up is a quick turnaround for a 5pm match up on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Lightning at PNC Arena.
Go Canes!
2) The penalty kill
NIC WALLIN SIGHTING ????
Good stuff. This teams been awfully fun through two games. And, you know, we haven’t gotten a single goal from:
Svech
Aho
Turbo
Dougie
Dzingel
Nino
Staal
Our best player doesn’t even have a point at all!
And we’re 2-0-0 including a W in Washington’s home opener in a game you know darn well they wanted REAL bad. Trying not to overreact after two games, but if the goaltending tandem can continue to provide consistency… Can dream pretty big on what’s to come.
High intensity game by both teams. Definitely a team win as no one on the Canes had a “bad” game. There were some “oops” here and there, but that’s what occurs in games played at the speed that this one was.
Considering the very few minutes of game action Reimer had up to the start of this game, he was outstanding. Disagree a little with Matt on the first goal by Washington. It appeared to me that Reimer squared up to the shooter who shot the puck high and it glanced off Reimer’s shoulder high into the right corner of the net. I could be wrong on that. The second goal was a fluke where the puck bounced way up into the air, was hit by Oshie’s stick while in the air and from there went into the net. It shouldn’t get lost that Ovie had two or three blasts right on net that Reimer stopped. I’ve seen many a goalie wave at those as they allowed them to go by them.
Stanley above has the right perspective on things.
What a fun and interesting game. After all the talk from Reardon the game was devoid of extracurriculars. Reardon’s full of it, but that’s another issue.
I was not so impressed with Reimer. Every shot had me worried. The first goal was a horrendous turnover by Edmundson, but the second goal was because of a crappy rebound caused by Reimer’s bad positioning. Kudos to Reimer for holding the fort in the third and OT, but he didn’t inspire confidence. Some juicy rebound that the Canes fortunately controlled, including the one that started Slavin’s rush.
Everyone talks about the forwards on the Canes, but the backbone really is Slavin and Pesce. Pesce gave a clinic on gaps last night. No room for you, Ovi. Slavin starting and finishing that rush last night was electric. The guy can flat out skate and his hand/eye is second to none. If he only had a shot…
I thought Fluery had a good game last night. He had a turnover in the third and Tripp was calling for him to be benched. The guy has zero room for error playing for Brind’Amour. It’s obvious Rod doesn’t trust him and that isn’t going to change. They should move him and let the guy have a shot at a career. I can’t imagine what Tripp would say if Fleury made a turnover like Edmundson’s, but guys you trust get a break, if they don’t trust you…
Todd Reirden is the coach for the Capitals because Barry Trotz and Ovi didn’t mesh. Ovi runs that team, not Reirden. Given his coaching load is reduced by Ovi’s interventions he has time to find extraneous material to run on about. Were I in charge of the cheers at the PNC. The next time the Craps are in town I would run a modification of the chant that arises from time to time directed at the opposing goalie. After multiple repetitions of the last name, the target of the chant is told he inhales forcefully threw his mouth.
Reirden was a nobody player and is a nobody coach. You are correct that he serves at Ovi’s pleasure. He isn’t worth the effort.
Matt. Glad to see you giving Pesce and Teravainen some attention. They are both much better than many folks realize.
Pesce is the best D-man on a team full of good defenseman. At some point I think he could excel on the power play—he has definitely been showing more offensive initiative. You noted how he thwarted Ovi last night. Almost every game he makes life miserable for the other team’s best players.
Teravainen is able to impact a game with his passing. As I have mentioned, though their size and styles are much different, Teravainen’s career so far is very similar to Blake Wheeler’s through age 25. In fact, Teravainen is a little more productive. His passing puts extreme pressure on the other team’s defense because any small breakdown gets exploited. TT is that rare player who is elite by letting others score.
Overall, good stuff through two games. Though having to come from behind in the third is not a recipe for long-term success.
I was at the downtown watch party last night which is a really tough environment to watch the game with any focus, nevermind hear John and Tripp’s commentary.
I was surprised at how tame the atmosphere was – was Wilson ever even on the ice?
I did notice that Foegele didn’t get much TOI – don’t know what to read into that.
I don’t think one game is a good read on Reimer, but I would argue he was more solid last night than Mrazek was the previous game (outside of the shutdown performance in the shootout).
As mentioned, seeding the scoring from the new guys (RBA said contrinuting early makes them feel part of the team) and the lack, so far, of scoring from our stalwarts is promising (I think).
As for points – every point counts, of course. But we did start last season 4-0-1 before losing 8 of the next 10 games.
Martinook’s TOI has also been a bit over 10 minutes each game thus far. Watching him skate, stop or change directions I’m worried that his LBI from last season is acting up.
Wow that was fun. It had the lead-up and feel of a playoff game.
While the canes didn’t score in the first two periods, they played very well (with the exception of penalties). It was truly a case of “keep doing what you are doing” and the pucks will start going in.
Haula is blossoming before our eyes. I don’t believe his first season in Vegas was an anomaly, but rather the opposite. He is capable of much more and is on a great trajectory.
The Ream Machine was active in the crease last night. Good to see both goalies with OT wins to start the season, that is really good for confidence.
What a game! I enjoyed it thoroughly.
I will leave the technical critique of his performance to the goalkeeping experts, but I must confess that the silence in my lonely room was broken several times by my shouts of, “Nice stop, Jimmy!” So much for my appraisal of his performance. I must say that I feel sanguine at the prospects for my beloved Canes going forward with this goalkeeper tandem.
I think Brandon Stanley’s post hit the bulls eye. Once the scorers start firing on all eight cylinders, this team will be a fearsome scoring machine.
Our Haydn wasn’t particularly bad in the game against les Habitants. He wasn’t good. But he wasn’t particularly bad.
But last night, he was very bad. Of course, he let his mark get around him easily. That was when Tripp started talking about Roddy going with 5D for the rest of the game. But even more telling was when the Caps scored but it was called back.for goalkeeper interference. Replays revealed that as the interference was called, the camera caught our Haydn with his back to the play slowly drifting toward his keeper.
The camera followed up as Jimmy Reimer obviously reprimanded our Haydn for missing his assignment, using his stick drawing on the ice to show where he should have been and why.
I believe that Roddy wants to give our Haydn a chance to prove himself one way or the other. Why else would he give him the starting assignment, trusting him to play on his off side?
I believe the trust problem exists, but it is with his teammates. In the game against Montreal, Eddy Edmundson saw his partner being manhandled by an enemy player. After the whistle, Eddy said some mean things to the enemy player and shoved him. He then skated away, followed closely by our Haydn. Our Haydn stopped in front of the enemy player and shoved him.
Fans around me laughed with delight and shouted, “Hit him with your purse, Haydn!” I stifled my giggles.
Now. What happened with Warren Fogele and the Caps? What about the Code?
For many years, I lived in the South Jersey area and was a rabid Flyers fan. I was a fan during their time as the Broad Street Bullies.
These were interesting times. Calls for revenge against one or more of the Flyers were commonplace. Death threats were not rare.
It was not unusual for the league to intervene. Orders to on ice officials were issued to enforce the rules strictly (the dreaded instigator rule). Personal visits to the arena on game day by Clarence Campbell were not unheard of.
Last night, everyone was uncharacteristically peace loving. Roddy held Fogele off the ice early on. No doubt, the league had a pre game chat with all involved.
But the Code survived. The time limit (statute of limitations, if you will) allows for waiting to the end of the regular season. We fans might forget. The local press (not likely) might forget. But the teams won’t forget.
Tonight we play Tampa. Both teams will play their 3rd game in 4 nights. Both teams traveled last night. Vasilevsky played in both games for Tampa with split results. In the last 2 games the Canes have 2 OT wins against very good goalies playing very good games. Might we get to see McElhinney tonight?