WASHINGTON, D.C. — What looked like a routine afternoon for the Carolina Hurricanes — cruising to an easy win after jumping to a 3–0 lead — turned into a classic “Capitals find a way” story Saturday night at Capital One Arena. Down by three early, outshot badly and with a rookie in net, the Washington Capitals stormed back to beat Carolina 4–3 in overtime, capped by Justin Sourdif’s winner at 1:42 of extra time.
Carolina dominated the opening stanza, peppering Washington with offense and finding the scoresheet on three early chances. Mark Jankowski struck first before Sebastian Aho made it 2–0, and Shayne Gostisbehere pushed the advantage to three just past the four-minute mark of the second period. At that point, it looked like the Canes would simply roll — the Metropolitan Division has been theirs for much of the season and their 7-game point streak suggested they were the team in command.
But as coach Rod Brind’Amour lamented after the game, Carolina’s wheels fell off — and not in the thrilling, late-comeback way they themselves engineered earlier in the week. The Canes’ often stifling defense went AWOL, allowing Washington to flip the script in the second and third periods. Hendrix Lapierre got Washington on the board, Dylan Strome made it 3–2, and Jakob Chychrun tied it with a blistering wrist shot from the high slot to send it to OT.
Despite the loss, Carolina did at least salvage a point in the standings, thanks to the league’s point-for-overtime system. And to be fair, Frederik Andersen stopped 38 shots and kept Carolina close — though one might argue Andersen was tested far less often than the Hurricanes’ defensive corps ought to have insisted. A night that should have been a comfortable blowout turned into a grind, and the ‘Canes looked like a team that blinked first.
Meanwhile, Washington was far from squeaky-clean. The Caps got away with several borderline physical plays that drew gasps (and grumbles) from the crowd and checkpoints in the “should’ve been a penalty” column from the analytics crowd. If this franchise has one identity trait in the modern era, it’s finding scrappy ways to win — sometimes toeing the line very closely — and Saturday was no exception.
Shot totals told much of the tale: Washington finished with a 42-22 edge, outworking Carolina through 60 minutes and three extra minutes of overtime. The ‘Canes, for all their early promise, mustered only 22 shots and struggled to sustain pressure once their early lead evaporated.
Statistically, this game will live on in Caps lore as another comeback notch in the belt — a club that has often thrived under adversity — and an example of why momentum swings matter in the NHL. For Carolina, it’s a reminder that even division leaders can look very mortal when they let off the gas.
In the end, Washington walked out of D.C. with two points and another quirky chapter added to the season logs. The Hurricanes head home pondering what might have been, while the Capitals get ready for their next tilt riding the high of a comeback that only they could throw together.
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