WASHINGTON (AP) — Connor McMichael and John Carlson scored, Logan Thompson made 26 saves and the Washington Capitals beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 in Game 2 on Thursday night to tie the second-round playoff series.
After a slow first period, the Eastern Conference regular-season champion Capitals started to look more like themselves as as the game wore on, dictating their style and not getting hemmed in their end for long stretches. That was essential after they were they were thoroughly outplayed in the series opener, an overtime loss.
Thankful to be in it Tuesday night, Washington in Game 2 outlasted Carolina's puck possession start and took advantage of a fortunate break and a series of penalties.
McMichael scored 2:15 into the second on a breakaway after an attempted dump-in by Sean Walker hit Hurricanes defense partner Shayne Gostisbehere in the face, slowing his ability to get back. Carlson fired a power-play goal into a wide-open net 1:54 into the third off a textbook cross-ice pass from Tom Wilson that Frederik Andersen had no realistic chance of stopping.
Wilson finished off his dominant game by sealing it with an empty-netter with a minute left. In addition to the assist, he blocked a shot that saved a would-be goal by Carolina.
At the other end of the ice, Thompson kept up his stellar goaltending that helped the Capitals get past Montreal in five games in the first round. Chants of “LT! LT!” filled the arena just about every time Thompson made a stop and halted play.
The Hurricanes got 18 saves from Andersen and a power-play goal from Gostisbehere with 10:34 left but could not erase their deficit. The last team this postseason to be perfect on the penalty kill, entering 17 for 17, their streak was broken on Carlson's goal.
Game 3 is 6 p.m. EDT on Saturday in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes won all three of their home games in the first round against New Jersey and 31 of 41 during the regular season.
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
