The Caps have been, principally, already in must-win territory after shedding Sport 1 of their second-round collection with the Carolina Hurricanes in extra time on residence ice. With the strain on in Sport 2, Wilson made a fantastic play to arrange the game-winning objective from John Carlson, then deposited the empty-net dagger to provide Washington a 3-1 victory on Thursday night time.
Within the opening 20 minutes, Sport 2 seemed rather a lot like Sport 1, which was dangerous information for the Capitals as a result of Carolina dominated the collection opener by way of creating scoring alternatives. However simply 2:16 into the center body, Connor McMichael took benefit of a troublesome break for the Hurricanes to open the scoring.
Standing proper on the pink line, Carolina defenceman Sean Walker tried to elevate a backhand into the Caps’ zone. The puck, although, struck fellow Canes D-man Shayne Gostisbehere up excessive, gorgeous him for a second and permitting McMichael to burst in alone on Frederik Andersen and beat the goalie with an ideal off-the-bar-and-in shot on the glove aspect.
It was McMichael’s fourth objective of the spring and offered an enormous elevate for the Caps.
After the Canes had 68.42 per cent of the shot makes an attempt within the first interval, Washington pushed again and recorded 51.02 per cent of the makes an attempt within the center body. Holding a tenuous 1-0 lead after 40 minutes, the Caps went on the ability play 92 seconds into the third. It was on that man benefit Wilson made the play of the sport, teeing up Carlson for the objective that put Washington up by two.
Positioned on the proper hashmark, Wilson accepted a half-wall move from Dylan Strome. Pivoting 180 levels to his left, Wilson swept a move by the slot to Carlson, who’d drifted down low from the purpose. The defenceman one-timed the puck previous a helpless Andersen, and the Capitals all of a sudden had a minimum of a bit of respiration room towards the relentless Canes.
When Gostisbehere pulled Carolina inside one with a power-play objective, the warmth was again on. However the Caps hung powerful and Wilson — on the market defending the six-on-five Carolina assault — helped his workforce clear the zone and finally discovered himself with the puck on his stick within the excessive slot and no goalie within the Carolina internet.
Wilson wired residence the ENG, and the Caps might lastly exhale for good.
After all, along with his offensive work, Wilson was his traditional bodily self and was credited with two shot blocks on the defensive aspect of the puck.
Washington’s punishing proper winger was an enormous a part of Sport 2, however not the one story from the night time. Right here’s what else stood out within the Capitals’ series-levelling victory.
Thompson continues to shine
For a man who was harm on the eve of the playoffs and was compelled out of a Spherical 1 recreation after a collision with a teammate, Logan Thompson is tending a nice objective for the Caps.
Thompson stopped each one of many 24 even-strength photographs the Hurricanes fired at him in Sport 2. The one puck that acquired by him got here on a little bit of a damaged play throughout a Canes man benefit, when a blocked puck kicked over to Gostisbehere and he smashed it residence from the appropriate dot for a objective Thompson had no actual shot at stopping.
The Caps’ southpaw goalie has been nice all post-season and, with a pair of Spherical 2 video games within the books, has one of the best targets saved above anticipated/60 minutes (1.490) of any goalie who’s performed a minimum of 5 contests this spring.
Carolina’s prime line scuffles
The Canes’ problem this time of 12 months is at all times looking for sufficient targets. For the second straight recreation, Carolina managed only a single objective in regulation time. A part of the rationale for that — other than Thompson’s sturdy play — was the very fact the highest line of Sebastian Aho between Andrei Svechnikov and Jackson Blake merely didn’t generate sufficient top-quality possibilities.
In line with Moneypuck, Carolina’s first line had an anticipated targets proportion of simply 29.7 per cent at five-on-five.
Carolina has three targets in six-plus intervals of hockey up to now on this collection; two of them have come from defencemen (Gostisbehere and Jaccob Slavin) and the opposite got here courtesy the stick of third-liner Logan Stankoven.
If the Hurricanes are ever going to resolve this downside of scoring sufficient within the post-season, the top-of-the-lineup guys should paved the way.
Let’s see if they’ll try this when the puck drops for Sport 3 on Saturday in Raleigh.
