Notes and Quotes from the Hurricanes’ 6-1 Loss to the Capitals

From the Coach

Bill Peters:

You know what they got to our net, they were hard on us. We didn’t do a good enough job boxing out down low and they were able to capitalize on that situation. They scored a lot of goals here recently, they were playing well in all three zones. They played good defensively and their transition game is quick and they’re heavy in the offensive zone.

There’s a lot of work left to be done. We were playing well heading into [these four games] and we came off it a little bit and now we have to get back to work. The last game is huge, you want to go into the all star break with a good taste in your mouth and be able to enjoy the all star break and come back and reset.

In the Room

Jaccob Slavin:

It’s a challenge every night going against the top guys. You’ve got to respect their skill and what they can do out there. We enjoy going against the top guys but they just had all of their lines going tonight and we didn’t.

On the power play were moving it pretty quick and we’re just trying to get the puck to the net more and knowing what to do with the puck before we get it has helped us out with the past two goals

Jordan Staal:

When it gets up to 3-1, 4-1 its difficult. There were a couple of miscues and a couple of mistakes and they took over.

We have to get off the pine here and get moving. We’ve played a lot of good teams I thought we played well in Columbus but didn’t get the result. The other games we haven’t had enough, we have to find a way to dig deep and get a strong effort for the last game before the all star break

[The standings] are tight, there are a lot of good teams in the mix and we’re right there. We have to start playing good hockey, I don’t think we deserve it if we’re playing bad hockey the way we are right now. When we start playing the way we can previously, we are going to make a push.

Ron Hainsey:

When you give up six it’s hard to recap the exact moment where it gets away. You know we gave up a deflection on the PK there and unfortunately they followed it up with a play in the zone. There weren’t a lot of grade-a chances either way they had a couple that snuck through. They’re playing so well that once it gets to 3-1 or 4-1 we have to start taking some chances or capitalizing on the power play to catch up and we weren’t able to do that.

They’re playing so well that once you get down even two goals on the road its tough. We weren’t creating that much 5 on 5. There wasn’t a ton going on for us offensively so its tough when you have to start taking chances or capitalizing on the power play. They were well positioned out there, they have a lot of big bodies that were in the right place all the time and that makes it difficult.

Game Notes

• With a loss tonight the Canes’ season record against the Caps has fallen to 1-1-1. Their record against the Metropolitan division has dropped to 4-11-2. The Canes road record also dropped to 6-14-6, which is not going to get it done for a wild card position.
• Understatement: The Caps are red hot. Nicklas Backstrom has now extended his assist streak to 10 games. With an assist tonight, Alex Ovechkin has also extended a point streak to eight games. Ovechkin now has 78 points (32g, 46a) in 68 career games against the Canes, Backstrom now has 52 points (14g, 38a) in 47 games.
• With a power play goal tonight the Canes now have back to back games with a power play goal. The Canes went 1-4 on their four opportunities tonight. This is the first time since December 13 and December 16 that the Canes have scored power play goals in back to back games.
• Jaccob Slavin led the team with 23:13 time on the ice. Jordan Staal led all forwards with 18:02. Both were on the ice for the Canes lone goal, with Staal being the one who finished off the chance.
• The Canes now face the Los Angeles Kings who are 4-6-0 in their last 10 games and have also lost four straight. It is a great opportunity for the Canes to enter the all-star break on a good note.