The Washington Capitals have their backs up against the wall against the Carolina Hurricanes, having lost by a 5-2 final score at Lenovo Center on Monday, falling into a 3-1 series deficit.
Carolina now has the chance to eliminate the Capitals from the Stanley Cup Playoffs when the two teams face off in Game 5 in Washington, DC, on Thursday.
Carolina Hurricanes vs. Washington Capitals Game 4 Recap
Carolina opened the scoring midway through the opening 20 minutes of play thanks to a tally from Shayne Gostisbehere, his third of the playoffs. Their lead was extended to 2-0 early in the second period after Seth Jarvis scored his third of the playoffs.
Washington finally broke the shutout attempt of goaltender Frederik Andersen after defenseman Jakob Chychrun scored the Capitals’ first goal of the night. But a horrid defensive breakdown by the Capitals allowed Taylor Hall to score on a breakaway attempt, restoring the two-goal lead.
While sniper Alex Ovechkin gave the Capitals some hope with a power-play tally at the 12:14 mark in the third period, any hope was snuffed out after Sean Walker beat Logan Thompson for his first of the playoffs, extending the lead to 4-2.
Andrei Svechnikov added an empty-net goal to cap the scoring after Thompson was benched for a sixth attacker.
3 Capitals Who Missed the Mark in Game 4 Loss to Hurricanes
1] Connor McMichael
McMichael was one of Washington’s more forceful offensive threats during the regular season, having a breakout campaign, but he failed to make any meaningful impact in their Game 4 loss.
He was nowhere to be found on the scoresheet, registering zero points and managing only a single shot on goal. He finished the night with a -2 rating.
2] John Carlsson
Like McMichael, Carlsson didn’t contribute anything offensively and finished with a -2 rating. But his most egregious error came just seconds after teammate Jakob Chychrun halved Carolina’s lead.
He didn’t notice that Taylor Hall had snuck through the neutral zone and was nearly at Washington’s blue line. He was left utterly helpless in trying to chase Hall down when the left winger received the pass that ultimately resulted in the Hurricanes’ third goal of the night.
3] Logan Thompson
While Thompson finished the evening with 32 saves, it was the shots he didn’t stop that ultimately proved too costly for Washington to overcome.
Had he made a critical save on either Taylor Hall’s breakaway attempt or Sean Walker (who hadn’t scored all postseason) late in the third period, the Capitals could have authored a better fate.
He’ll have to have his best game of the season on Thursday if the Capitals are to live to fight another day.