The Carolina Hurricanes have re-taken a one-game lead over the Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, winning by a 4-0 score in front of a rocking sellout crowd at Lenovo Center in Raleigh on Saturday.
The Hurricanes, who initially led the series 1-0 after their 2-1 overtime win in Game 1, are back on top after dropping Game 2 back in Washington.
Capitals Fans Left Bewildered After Shutout Game 4 Loss
Following the loss, frustrated Capitals fans vented over what they felt was a lack of killer instinct.
One fan said he feels Tom Wilson is the only player who consistently shows effort, saying, “It constantly feels like the only player who wants it all is Tom Wilson. Throws the body. Not afraid to shoot, not afraid to get in front of the net. The rest of our forwards show no fire whatsoever…”
It constantly feels like the only player who wants it all is Tom Wilson.
Throws the body
Not afraid to shoot
Not afraid to get in front of the netThe rest of our forwards show no fire whatsoever…
— 30+ SHOTS ON GOAL CAPS (@Wil_Mike_)
This fan also felt there was a lack of finish with the Capitals in Game 3, saying, “Can’t win if you don’t have finish. Dominated the first, and just kept failing at the end of the play when it mattered. As soon as they scored their first goal, you could feel we were not winning this one. Find our finish in game 4, and turn the series around going home.”
This fan called out team captain Alex Ovechkin, asking, “Does Ovechkin play for the Capitals? I haven’t seen him, might have missed something.”
Another fan wanted to know where the dominant Capitals team from the regular season went, asking, “I don’t even know what to say. Where’s the team that was absolutely phenomenal in the beginning of the regular season?”
This fan kept things simple, saying, “Gave them that win. Must win on Monday.”
Gave them that win. Monday is a must win.
— Babs (@itsbabalou)
This fan tried to remain optimistic for Game 4, saying, “Let’s see some physicality on Monday. Canes controlled everything today. Caps are a better team, so let’s play like it!”
Finally, this fan wanted to know, “Does the team know games are more than 20 minutes long?”
Capitals Coach Spencer Carbery Left Looking For Answers After Game 3 Loss
The Capitals have been plagued by an inability to score on their considerable advantage of high-danger area scoring chances in the opening 20 minutes of play in each of the last three games, something that coach Spencer Carbery can’t account for.
“No question,” said Carbery. “If you score on one of those opportunities early and get a lead – one or two nothing – it changes the whole outlook of the game. But we didn’t. It doesn’t mean you can’t find your way through that at 0-0 into the second period. We just needed to do a little bit better. Even when we get down 1-0 and even 2-0, it still felt fine about the game. It’s just that our puck play after that really slipped; we really struggled with it.”
Washington must win Game 4 on Monday night in order to avoid falling into an 3-1 series hole.