It can be easy to overreact in the moment, but I really think even with time to let it settle that Monday’s dominant 5-0 win over the Washington Capitals will go down in Canes history as one of many great playoff wins.
As I said on Twitter shortly after the game ended:
Need to let it settle over time but because of 10-year wait, utter domination and atmosphere, I think @NHLCanes 5-0 win over #allcaps is instantly a classic for consideration next time we debate the best playoff games in #Canes history.#TAKEWARNING !!!!!!!!!!!
— Canes and Coffee (@CanesandCoffee) April 16, 2019
The anticipation and build up after a full decade without playoff hockey in itself makes Monday’s win special. Pair that with the manner that the Canes dominated the game that led to a raucous atmosphere throughout, and I think next time we are debating great playoff games in playoff history that this game will hold its own and stand the test of time.
Game recap
Few probably remember it now, but the game started fairly evenly. The game was physical and a bit chippy from the outset, and both teams had a couple chances early. The Hurricanes took their first lead of the series and avoided digging a big hole early for the third consecutive game when Warren Foegele won a literal battle for position at the top of the crease and scored an ugly goal that the Hurricanes so desperately needed. Just over a minute later, Andrei Svechnikov and Alexander Ovechkin got into it for the second consecutive game resulting in the pair dropping the gloves. Ovechkin seemed to get Svechnikov off balance a bit and then dropped him with three powerful punches. Svechnikov was down for awhile and looked lost as the training staff toted him off the ice.
Not sure if that lit a fire under the Canes or maybe just put a jolt into the game, but the the game pivoted firmly in the Canes direction from that point forward. The Canes out-shot the Capitals 7 to 2 for the remainder of the first period, then 18 to 1 in the second period and then 10-1 up to the point where McGinn scored to make it 5-0 and more or less close out the game. Totaled up, the Hurricanes out-shot the Capitals by a 35 to 4 margin. The second period looked very much like the preseason when the Hurricanes completely overwhelmed teams such that it looked like NHL teams play high school teams. The Hurricanes would not score again in the first period, but momentum had clearly swung in their favor.
As I started to say above, the second period was a master class in how to control a game by hounding the puck and smothering an opponent with the forecheck. The Hurricanes were utterly dominant, and it was not just in stretches. It was the entire period pretty much each and every shift. After six minutes of dominant play with no just reward, the Hurricanes finally got what they deserved when a nice passing play saw Sebastian Aho shovel the puck across the top of the crease to Foegele who again found a way to get the puck past Holtby. When Dougie Hamilton scored on a power play blast through a screen by guess who, Warren Foegele, the Hurricanes had climbed out to a nice 3-0 lead. This time of year, the goals and scoreboard trump all else, but the story of the second period was still the Hurricanes tenacity. The lunch pailers had the game of all games and in the process completely neutered the Capitals usually strong offense. Foegele grabbed the headlines with his goal scoring, but McGinn, Martinook, Staal and really all ten remaining forwards (Ferland and Svechnikov were out) just completely controlled the game.
Then, the third period just added a layer of fun to go with a dose of chippiness and being careful when the Caps became frustrated. When the game still had the potential to swing back to the Capitals, the Hurricanes killed off two early penalties and then went back to taking the defending Stanley Cup champs out behind the wood shed. Dougie Hamilton would add a second power play marker and Brock McGinn would pick a corner in along off the rush. Over the course of the middle of the game, PNC Arena oscillated between just plain loud and complete pandemonium in terms of volume and also visual with fans waving the souvenir towels that they received at the game. Maybe trying to make a statement and pivot momentum a bit heading into game 4, the Capitals put on a furious rush in the final few minutes trying to at least get on the scoreboard. But neither Petr Mrazek nor the hockey gods were having it. A couple good saves and near misses saw the clock reach 0:00 with a dominant and rousing 5-0 Hurricanes win.
Player and other notes
1) Warren Foegele
I said in my game preview that the Hurricanes really needed a star or two to step up and lead the way to a win. The entirety of of the lineup had a strong game, but the player who was really the difference-maker when the game was being decided was Warren Foegele. As I said on Twitter:
The preseason play where Warren Foegele got under Braden Holtby's skin and Holtby took and chucked Foegele's stick now looks like one of those early moments in a movie that was an omen of things to come. #TakeWarning
— Canes and Coffee (@CanesandCoffee) April 16, 2019
Foegele played a leading role in the first three Hurricanes goals and could easily have had a couple more. He had a breakaway that just missed and also two more whacks from the top of the crease that just skittered wide. By far, Foegele is playing his best hockey under the pressure and brighter lights with a couple huge goals during the regular season stretch run and now the playoffs.
2) The forecheck and puck-hounding
By far and away, the story of the game was the Hurricanes forecheck. Washington really did not even play offense for the entire second period, and the Hurricanes just completely overwhelmed the Capitals for the vast majority of 45 minutes of hockey from the Svechnikov/Ovechkin fight up through McGinn’s goal to build a five-goal lead. The fact that Mrazek posted a shutout and rightfully did not even make the three stars says a lot about how much the Hurricanes dominated play.
3) Dougie Hamilton
Hamilton continues to play some of his best hockey. When the pace and banging pick up, Hamilton looks very comfortable. His skating makes him a natural fit for the faster game, and his size helps in terms of taking hits along the boards to make plays. Throw in not one but two power play markers, and Hamilton had a strong game.
3) Sebastian Aho
Maybe just needing to settle into playoff hockey, I thought Aho re-found his higher gear. He had a couple plays where he wheeled around the offensive zone like he has done very little of late. And similarly, he did a great job on the penalty using his skating to force the Capitals to regroup multiple times in their own end. He had the assist on Foegele’s second goal, but more significantly he seemed to again have the high-end mobility that makes him so dangerous.
4) Jordan Staal
His rugged style of play is made for the playoffs. He had that on full display on Monday banging bodies and forging forward with the puck.
5) The fight
First and foremost, here is hoping that Andrei Svechnikov is okay and recovers quickly. I think the fight between Svechnikov and Ovechkin has two angles. The first deals with whether it is within the rules, and the second deals with regardless of the rules it is right. Supposedly, Svechnikov initiated the fight. If true, that would seemingly give Ovechkin the right so say yes and also eliminate any case that it was a predatorial move on his part.
But as I said on Twitter shortly after the game ended:
You can't beat up a kid, then simply say "I hope he's okay" and pretend that makes everything okay. Even in hockey, that's not how life works. #TakeWarning https://t.co/kJSw7VgTgw
— Canes and Coffee (@CanesandCoffee) April 16, 2019
By the letter of the law and NHL rules, Alexander Ovechkin did nothing wrong. But I think this is also a situation where the NHL too regularly lacks player for player respect and decency. If a 13-year old kid from across the street for some crazy reason wants to fight me, it would be wrong of me to accept such a fight. But just maybe if the kid attacked me first, I would have a legitimate right to fight him, and a self defense plea might save me. But let’s be clear, in this case, I might be legally okay for fighting the 13-year old, but in no way would it change the fact that it was a scum bag move.
Back to the problem at hand, sure Svechnikov might have prompted the fight which clears Ovechkin from being the aggressor, and maybe that makes Ovechkin innocent in terms of any laws. But that does not mean he is not a scum bag for what happened. Ovechkin could have just passed. Maybe more appropriately, he could taken the fight and mostly just wrestled Svechnikov to the ground with minimal drama. But regardless, one cannot just claim a free pass on decency because hockey. What happened was a scum bag move by Ovechkin regardless of any other details.
6) Reinforcements for Thursday?
With Svechnikov and Ferland likely out due to injury, the Hurricanes could need to add two players (maybe only one). Saku Maenalanin was the healthy scratch early in the game. Though the Hurricanes have a few AHL forwards who are playing well right now, including Alesk Saarela and Julien Gauthier who could potentially add offense to the lineup. But in game 3, the Hurricanes dominated from having skilled scorers. Rather, Monday’s success was from being fast on the forecheck and also retrieving or defending pucks. My hunch is that the recall who steps into the lineup will be Clark Bishop. Bishop does not bring nearly as much scoring potential, but he is a perfect match for what Brind’Amour wants to do which is attack the puck.
Next up is two days off for Canes fans to allow their voices to recover and then a Thursday game 4 that could see the Hurricanes pull back to even in the series.
Go Canes!
Say what you will, a 19 year old standing up to Ovi (and getting knocked out in the process) changed this series. Canes saw a kid say he wasn’t going to get pushed around by arguably the best player in the game. Saw a kid stand up and trade blows with a guy veteran that outweighs him by 50 lbs. Saw him go down in a heap and get carried off the ice on his shield. I apologize for the rant but I promise you Svechnikov earned the respect of one of the best to ever play. I think after going 0-6 some would say the Canes didn’t stand a chance. But i disagree. The Canes are in the Caps head. They won’t go away. Every game has been a battle. PNC was finally rocking. I wish I could be there but Ill watch from far away in Northern Maine. Toast the effort and take in the vibes of dominating a Stanley Cup winning team to a tune of 5-0. to quote Pierre Mcquire your not in trouble until you lose at home. Been waiting a long time to watch a game like that. I understand they still have to win 3 more but i cannot wait to take in game 4 and hopefully enjoy watching from north of the wall. 109 decibels was the highest I saw… I think 115 is doable.
I thought I was in the ‘Caniac outskirts’ being a loyal fan in New Hampshire, but northern ME probably still has snow!
And I agree, the Canes are increasingly getting into the Caps heads and it shows.
It was a dominant win. The Canes can hang with the Caps–and outplay them.
I too think Bishop makes the most sense as the call-up. However, he hasn’t played since 3-24. I know he was battling an injury, so I don’t believe he will be called up with no game play in three weeks. Given that and the need for someone to play sound fourth-line hockey, I would lean toward Geekie. He is not flashy, but he doesn’t make many mistakes and is positionally sound. All of Necas, Saarela, and Gauthier will fight for a spot in preseason, but I don’t think it makes sense to have any of them play physical fourth line hockey for one or two games.
Niederreter/Aho/Teravainen
McGinn/Staal/Williams
Foegele/Wallmark/Martinook
Geekie/McKegg/Maenalanen
Haven’t had time to track Checkers too closely and did not realize that Bishop had been out of the lineup. Not sure Geekie is right for jumping into this level of pace or for what Brind’Amour is trying to do right now. I guess Patrick Brown would be the safe but also low ceiling option. Gauthier brings a big body and scoring potential and is playing well but maybe is risky in terms of attention to detail.
Will be interesting to see what team does. Ideal would be if Ferland is day-to-day with potential to return with two days off, but that might be wishful thinking.
I would think it would have to be Brown if the Canes need a callup. Throwing another 19 year old in there is asking a lot of Geekie. Gauthier’s play away from the puck is extremely suspect. Can’t see that either.
Great win. Lost in all the individual stuff is how well the Canes skated and clogged up everything the Caps tried to do. If they do that again in game 4 we will really have a series!
As for the fight…well, I feel bad for the kid, but he just learned a painful lesson. I have no problem with what Ovi did. If you are playing in the NHL you have to be smart. Don’t fight people you can’t handle. Take the slash and keep skating. Retaliating rarely does anything but get you in trouble. Foegele standing in front of the net and taking a beating and not retaliating is tough. Getting in a slash war is juvenile.
The odd part of it all is how Ovechkin is absolutely brutal on other Russians. I suppose he expects them to defer to him? Maybe it’s cultural? Don’t know, but as long as Ovechkin is able to walk the walk it will continue.
I also want to say I was probably too hard on Wallmark in game 1 and 2. I liked a lot of what he did last night. Then again, I liked most everyone’s play. (Not you Turbo. You were still awful.)
I highly doubt Svech asked to fight. Ovi might believe that, but it’s more likely Svech said something that Ovi interpreted as a call to fight. That type if fall – hitting back of your head – is incredibly dangerous. This is a perfect example of the need to ban fighting in hockey before someone suffers a permanent injury or death. I hope Svech is ok.
Also, it says a lot about this team the way that they played after this incident, especially missing two big power forwards. Aho looking like Aho is HUGE. Foegele playing like first week of season Foegele is fun. Dougie is just a sniper and in the zone.
1. After the 10 year playoff hiatus, I still thought I remembered how much the post season was hostile and brutal. I clearly had forgotten how dirty the game gets. The Canes are beginning to step up to the hostile and brutal part, but yet to add in the dirty part. That needs to get “better”.
2. The Caps are using a minor league second string goal tender as back up. It would be a shame if anything would happen to Holtby. (See#1.)
3. Simply, there may be extremely rare times when Svech should fight. Opting to drop the gloves last night against Ovechkin was a stupid decision by the 19 year old. Wrong guy, wrong time. Total mis-match. A risk a player of his calibre should not take.
4. Ferland injured himself checking Wilson. They collided violently. Both reeled. Ferland got the worst of a check he made. He will not be the kryptonite we need for Wilson in this series.
5. Being part of a playoff crowd was exhilarating again. Feeling like we helped the Canes persevere was the best. Can’t wait till Thursday.
Lots of praise to go around but in addition to the obvious ones, Staal and Trevor VRD were tremendous. Staal particularly was a beast. Possibly the best game I’ve seen him play in 4-5 years. TVRD also had his best game in a Canes uniform. Definitely a team effort and win, and sets the stage for what should be a brutal game on Thursday. As for the fight, Svech definitely asked for Ovie to go and initiated the “conversation”. He was trying to make a statement and once you’re in a fight all bets are off. I don’t blame Ovie at all, it just ended up bad for Svech and he learned a painful lesson. If they both missed on all the haymakers they were throwing and then fell to the ice, everyone would have said it was a tremendous move by a rookie and he earned everyone’s respect by going up against one of the best players in the history of the game. Unfortunately he got tagged and well, that’s the way it goes sometimes. Still earned a ton of respect from his teamates but he paid the price. Hopefully it will be a short recovery. Is Ferland’s continuing injury woes a shoulder, or are all of these concussion related? This is getting disconcerting that they can’t rely on him to stay healthy. If he’s out Thursday that’a a huge setback given the likely physicality coming.
I think the Canes should take a chance on the Goat, he is abig body who can score and he´s been playing lights out in the last dozen or so games with the Checkers. The Canes may not have the superstar power of the Caps butthey roll 4 lines that can score, there is no such thing as a 4th line.
Svech made a stupid decision but Ovi made a much stupider one by acting like a thug. If nothing else he will forever be booed in this city, I hope there will be a hering, but I highly doubt it.
I think this type of fighting does not belong in this game and that even playoff hockey should not turn into a series of scraps and a game of “who can get awaywith the most dirty plays”.
The refs have been painfully on the side of the Caps in the whole series, it’s like an extra forward for them )as if they needed a third extra forward yesterday, well they did).
I suspect the Caps just mailed it in after we made it3 zip, we mustn’t underestimate them, but a W is a W and this was one of the awesomest Canes games I’ve seen in a decade, and that is worth a heck of a lot.
Agree on Gauthier he has really starting to be play well on both ends and is a large body for net front……,but think it will be Brown. He is very dependable on both ends and has seen some action.
On another note boy is Hamilton playing lights out. That play in the third where he broke though
Continued…. hit send inadvertently.
two Caps defender and took it the net was top notch. Plus he always seems to find a seam on his shots and very rarely misses the open net. Hate it Svechnikov. Another reason fighting should be wiped from the game.
they will need to call up 2 forwards. Brown makes sense, Roy is possible. I would go with Jurco since he is older.
Probably, they will go 7 D. Maybe have Ham play some wing.
Awesome game! As always the best response in sports is to point to the scoreboard.
Agree somewhat on Ovi. He could have let up after the 1st or 2nd big punch and it looked like he threw a punch as they were going down. For better or worse, it was 2 hockey players going at it. So while I would boo him at the arena, I can’t really complain as long as fighting is part of the NHL.
Also, I’m just so excited to see if TB and/or Pitt get swept. As an old Ranger fan, I hate to say it but Go Isles!
I’m pretty sure Jurco is not under contract with the Canes, just the Checkers. He would need to be signed to an NHL contract to be called up. I’m not sure if he would be eligible for the playoffs even if he were to sign.
We had Saku in the press box so we have 11 forwards and can only bring one up from CLT on an emergency basis. As surgalt said, Jurco is on an AHL contract only. Brown is the right choice given his prior NHL experience.
When Svech buckled and the two fell Ovechkin was throwing a punch, but he pulled it while falling.
Re-watched most of the first period. No one has mentioned that the Canes seemed to get the Caps off their game on the very first shift when Teravainen saw Wilson coming and put him on the ice. That play told the Caps the Canes were not going to be knocked around.
Is there anyone here who buys Ovi’s tall tale that Svech asked him to fight? C’mon. Show of hands. Nobody? Neither do I. In order to buy that line of ripe manure, one would have to forget all of the attempts Ovi made in previous games to intimidate Svech. Does anyone doubt that Ovi was talking to Svech the whole time? Much of it in Russian? (So that others had no knowledge of what was going on).
Ovi had 50 pounds on Svech. But most importantly, he had 14 years on him. Svech is just a boy playing in a man’s league. Aho is only 22, but he played in a man’s league before he got here. Svech didn’t. So when they go after the Seabass, there isn’t much he hasn’t seen or heard. Say things about his mother or his manhood, Aho knows to not rise to the bait. Not so, with Svech.
Ovi is a scumbag. It doesn’t matter what Svech said immediately prior to the fight. All of Ovi’s conduct prior to it (even in previous games) demonstrates the fact that Ovi qualifies in textbook fashion as the “instigator”. Read the rule.
He richly deserved the 2 minute penalty prior to the 5 and then an ejection as well as a suspension. The refs have no manhood. Not one set among them.
Martinook almost had his manhood removed by Orpik’s stick. Again, no call. Remember Orpik? He’s the one who broke Eric Cole’s neck and for all intents and purposes, put him out of hockey. Back then, you should heard all of the excuses. The league tried to blame Cole himself.
Well, we beat those #s@=è s. We are in their heads. We need to keep the pressure on. Let’s humiliate them to the world for what they are. A poorly coached, worse led, bunch of goons. Even Niklas Backstrom was giving out cheap shots like they were candy.
Go Canes!
It’s clear on film that Svech asked Ovie if he wanted to go and said “Let’s do it” and they both dropped the gloves and went at it. No one likes the way it ended but it was a mutually agreed decision to fight so they both share responsibility. The ignorance of youth can be a dangerous thing sometimes and unfortunately this was one of those times.
In addition to the prior accolades for performance I thought Fleury played the best game of his career. He needed to build up that confidence level.
No, tenin… it is not clear
what was said. But the context of what Ovi was doing to the kid is very clear. Ovi is a goon and a bully. He qualifies as an “instigator” and an “aggressor” under league rules. The NHL doesn’t have to banish fighting. Rules are already on the books that would impose consequences on goons like Ovi as to make fighting obsolete. All we need is for referees to enforce them. Read the rules!
So if you like watching your franchise player pummeled even after he loses consciousness and fall onto the ice in a heap, thank a gutless referee.
No neutral observer will ever come to the conclusion that Ovi instigated the fight, or that he is a “goon”. That was his first fight since 2010 and he hasn’t stolen anyone’s lunch money since the ’80’s when he was saving up for some new teeth. Sorry, he’s just not that kind of player but I understand fans need villains and heroes, and he made it easy to pick the side you’re on if you’re a Canes fan. If you’re a fan of hockey, a more nuanced view tends to be in order.
ten. I have always liked Ovechkin. He uses his physicality and plays with an edge. Early in his career he had the reputation for coasting in the defensive end.
Start watching the first period at 9:15. Ovechkin is slipping into bad habits. He half-heartedly tries to clear the puck into neutral ice. Pesce pinches and the puck gets turned over to Svechnikov. Ovie looks annoyed, but still half-hearted. Instead of trying to check Svech out of the play he gives him a quick jab with the butt-end of his stick. When Svechnikov has the termity to continue to skate into the crease while the Canes attack, Ovechkin spears Svech twice more. Now I don’t know what was inside anyone’s head. But Ovechkin’s actions appear like he was annoyed that the Canes were outworking him, so he decides to use his stick instead of his skates and positioning. I admit Svechnikov has been bumping and slashing Ovi in the first two games. But from my limited understanding of the official and unofficial rules what Ovechkin did was borderline at best. It is pretty obvious that Svechnikov told Ovi he thought that as well and it ended with the gloves off.
I freely admit Ovechkin is not nearly as out-of-bounds as a player like Wilson. Also, it does seem strange that Ovi has fought in 9 years. But I do think a neutral observer would find that Ovechkin was being outplayed on the sequence and went outside the rules to show his displeasure.
Ovi was definitely trying to bully Svechnikov in all three games, and Svechnikov was trying to push back. That was a bad decision from Svechnikov. Just play hockey and that stuff will go away. He wasn’t ready to deal with Ovechkin and we all saw what happened.
Ovechkin has always had issues with other Russians that dare challenge him. Malkin has always been a specific target for Ovi. Not sure why he’s like that, but he is.
I also thought from the video that Svechnikov either asked for the fight or aggressively agreed based upon his aggressive head nod right before they went.
This news story, admittedly biased, errs on the side of Ovi being the aggressor
https://www.wralsportsfan.com/ovechkin-injures-carolinas-svechnikov-with-punch-to-face/18328372/
Again, this is news from wral.com, which is not exactly a neutral media outlet in this context.
I wouldn’t necessarily say that Ovi was the instigator but he clearly went way way overboard.
Bottom-line, fighting is stupid, it has no plays in a sport like hockey. While fighting is allowed anything can happen. You can’t tell two guys to fight but hold back at the same time, that’s not how human instinct works.
If this series goes to game 7 we will probably have the entire Checkers roster playing in Raleigh while fans can visit the newly established Hurricanes ward at Rex hospital to greet thei favorite players, wonder if Ovi will send flowers.
Mr. Brown has been recalled from the Checkers: http://gocheckers.com/articles/transactions/hurricanes-recall-patrick-brown-on-emergency-basis
Turn your frown upside down, we’ll beat the Caps with Mr. Brown
Anyone who understands hockey knows that a player who fights (admittedly a dying breed) is not necessarily a “goon”. A goon plays dirty and tries to use this dirty play to injure other players. He usually picks on players smaller than he is.
Michael Ferland is not a goon. He hits hard. The hits are usually legal. He fights when he thinks it necessary. I can’t remember a time when he has either hit or fought a man who was smaller than he was.
Ovi has never been a fighter. He lacks the courage necessary to be a fighter. He lacks the character to be a hitter like Ferland. But he has always been a goon. But he was so good as a player, he rarely had to goon it up. But now, at 33 or so, he is losing a step or two. He is having to compensate for this by committing fouls. And when he encounters a young hot shot like Svech who causes him embarrassment, we see how mean and without any respect for other players he can be. He is a goon. Watch the films of him with Svech for the three games. And then read the rules about “instigator” as well as “aggressor”. Please don’t embarrass yourself any further before you do.
Ferland doesn’t hit players smaller than he is? C’mon.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2019/03/05/marcus-johansson-micheal-ferland-hit-david-backes-bruins-hurricanes/3073988002/
This was not meant for anyone in particular, tenin…
There is a reason bareknuckle fighting has not been a thing since around 1900.
You only find it regularly in:
street fights
bar fights
school playground fights
…and hockey arenas.
I get “The Code”, but the “The Code” is no longer a thing either.
Whoever said what to who, bareknuckle fighting no longer has a place as a regular or expected feature of any professional sport.
Less than.. offers the incident of Michael Ferland’s hit on the Bruins’ Marcus Johansson as evidence that he hits players smaller than he is. Both players list their heights as 6′ 1″ tall. Each player lists his weight as below 220 pounds. So…. ???
Below 220 lbs is your standard? Johannsen is listed at 205. Ferland is listed at 217. Ferland didn’t hit, but fought Casey Nelson who is listed at 190. 27 lbs lighter. Hardly the same size. I’m not saying this to criticize Ferland, but it’s silly to think a guy only hits or fights guys his size or larger. You can’t play the game that way.