Late penalties spoil Hurricanes’ return home. What we learned in Canes’ loss to Caps
It seemed like old times Sunday at PNC Arena.
The Washington Capitals were in the house to play the Carolina Hurricanes. Peter Laviolette was back in the building. The Caps’ Alex Ovechkin was hunting goals, Tom Wilson was looking to bash people and the fans were into it from the opening draw of the Metropolitan Division game.
Said Canes center Sebastian Aho: “There’s a little bit of history there.”
And now a little more. The Caps came away with a 4-2 victory Sunday, taking the lead with a late power-play goal from Dmitry Orlov to hold off a third-period rally by the Canes.
The Canes (15-4-1) and Caps (14-3-5) had not faced off at PNC Arena since January 2020, their oft-heated Metro rivalry interrupted by the pandemic. After a season hiatus, their first meeting of the 2021-22 season came with the divisional lead on the line between two of the best teams in the league.
For the Canes, it came after two weeks of charter flights, hotel rooms, restaurant food, team bus rides and six away games. It also came two days after a 6-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers in the final game of the trip, and the Canes had plenty of zip Sunday.
Orlov’s goal, with 2:55 left regulation, came soon after the Caps failed to convert on 1:30 of a five-on-three advantage. Defenseman John Carlson, who had assisted on two goals, sealed it with an empty-net goal.
Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour, while calling the Caps a “great team that gives you nothing” was not happy with the way the game ended. Neither were a lot of Canes fans, who were loudly booing the refs in the final minutes.
.JPG "CapitalsHurricanesHockey (1).JPG")
A holding penalty against Canes rookie Seth Jarvis with five minutes left in regulation, followed by a slashing call 30 seconds later against Aho gave the Caps the 5-on-3 advantage. The Canes killed off the Jarvis penalty, but Orlov quickly scored on a shot at the post.
“It’s a tough way to end the game,” Brind’Amour said. “It was a great hockey game. I thought we had a great third period, just did everything we could. It’s unfortunate.
“What are you going to do? It’s tough. The first penalty is a penalty for sure. We blew our coverage there, which we didn’t do any of that the whole period, then all of a sudden took a little breath and that’s what they do to you. Give up a breakaway and take a penalty.”
While there was no dispute on the Jarvis holding call against Nick Jensen, it was Aho’s penalty -- the center breaking the stick of forward Aliaksei Protas along the boards -- that had Brind’Amour howling mad behind the bench. Ovechkin first raised his arm, then the referee.
“I get it but a tough call,” Brind’Amour said. “It’s a nothing play. We actually have the puck. Like, we’re getting it. I get it, why they call those, but I kind of felt like their guy called it. He kind of gave the ol’ yell at the ref and he decides to call it.
.JPG "CapitalsHurricanesHockey (3).JPG")
“But it is what it is. I mean that’s a penalty. Can’t do it. And that’s your game. That’s the frustrating part for everybody, right, it was a great game and it ends like that. They kind of took it out of our hands but it is what it is.”
The Canes trailed 2-0 after the second period but had the building rumbling as Jesperi Kotkaniemi and then Nino Niederreiter scored — both on open shots in the slot — to tie it in the third.
The first period was without a goal but not without action. The second period belonged to the Caps, who ramped up their forecheck and got goals from Ovechkin and Protas, who scored his first NHL goal.
For more than 46 minutes, the Canes couldn’t solve Samsonov. That ended when Kotkaniemi found open ice between the circles, took a pass from Jordan Martinook and beat Samsonov for his fifth of the season -- the Canes’ fourth line producing at 6:22 of the third.
Niederreiter then tied it at 13:32 of the period, seconds after a Canes power play ended. Defenseman Brett Pesce took a hit in the offensive zone to get the puck on the right side to Martin Necas, who found Niederreiter open for his fourth of the season.
The Canes had needed some good penalty killing to stay within reach, shutting down two Washington power plays in the second period and another early in the third period. But Orlov converted.
.JPG "CapitalsHurricanesHockey (2).JPG")
“Frustrating a little bit because we were doing good on the penalty kill all (game),” Aho said. “We felt confident we could kill that again and have a little push at the end. But 5-on-3’s are tough. It was a tough one.”
The power play again was a problem for the Canes, who have gone six games without a power-play goal. The Canes had two first-period power plays but managed two shots, then another in the third.
Ovechkin, who had his 28th career hat trick Friday against Florida, had an easy tap-in at 11:58 of the second. The Caps made it 2-0 just 59 seconds later, moments after a brief encounter between Canes goalie Frederik Andersen and Evgeny Kuznetsov. After Andersen had shoved away Kuznetsov with his blocker, Portas centered a pass that bounced off the skate of defenseman Tony DeAngelo at 12:57.
“I thought we came out really strong and had a really good first period,” Niederreiter said. “We kind of dictated the game most of the time and (the Caps) obviously got a couple of goals and we fought back, which is definitely great.”
The physicality picked up in the second. Canes defenseman Brendan Smith took Wilson to the ice at one point, although the gloves stayed on. Jarvis took an elbow in the ear from Nic Dowd. The Canes got in some big hits.
Laviolette coached the Canes to the 2006 Stanley Cup, with Brind’Amour as his captain. On Sunday, he again was behind the Caps bench coaching against him.
“It became a real competitive game,” Laviolette said. “It was fast. There wasn’t much space out there. They’re a really good team.”
This story was originally published November 28, 2021 at 3:49 PM.
