It was another one of those games in DC where the Carolina Hurricanes probably deserved a better outcome than they received, but once again they lost to the Washington Capitals, 2-1 on Sunday night at the Verizon Center.
The Hurricanes put up a season high 44 shots on goal and outshot the Caps in each and every period, but Tomas Vokoun was up to the task at hand and made a season high 43 saves for the home team.
Not only did the Hurricanes put 44 shots on goal in this game, they missed the net 13 times and had 25 shots blocked, for a total of 82 shot attempts. The Caps had 24 shots on goal, six missed shots, and eight attempts blocked for a total of 38 attempts.
Hurricanes killer, Alexander Semin scored the game's first goal at 16:57 into the second period when he beat Cam Ward high glove side. It was Semin's 27th career goal in 38 games against Carolina.
Jussi Jokinen tied things up though with a powerplay tally when he knocked in a loose puck scooting through the crease with just 17 seconds left in the second period.
Unlikely candidate, Dmitry Orlov, netted the game winner when he scored his first career NHL goal just 1:12 into the third. It looked like a goal Ward would wish he had back as the puck somehow got through the goalie at a tight angle.
The Canes would battle hard the rest of the period and put 18 shots on goal in that period alone, but could not solve Vokoun, who was named the game's first star.
Next up for Carolina will be the Penguins, in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night.
Game Notes:
- Jay Harrison and Brett Sutter led the way with five shots on goal each.
- The team was credited with 21 hits, led by Tuomo Ruutu and Alexei Ponikarovsky each with four.
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Justin Faulk and Bryan Allen each had two blocked shots, the team high. Faulk also had a game high 25:25 of ice time.
- The Canes won 47% of the game's faceoffs: (Staal 44%, Sutter 53%, Jokinen 67%, Brent 25%)
- Jeff Skinner played well for his first game back after a 16 game hiatus. He had one shot on goal and was credited with three hits. Skinner said he felt more like himself in the third period.
- Considering Carolina was playing the second game of a back-to-back and the third game in four nights, it was a valiant effort. The Caps had the previous night off.
- For post game interviews, check out Canes PR.com.