Capitals Fall To Hurricanes, 2-1 (OT); Aliaksei Protas Scores First Career Playoff Goal


Photo: @Capitals/X

The Washington Capitals fell to the Carolina Hurricanes, 2-1 (OT), Tuesday night at Capital One Arena. With the win, the Hurricanes take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

LINEUP

Logan Thompson (4-1-0, 2.23 GAA, .923 sv%) got the start between the pipes for the Capitals. Frederik Andersen (3-1-0, 1.57 GAA, .936 sv%) got the start in goal for the visiting Hurricanes. The starting forward lines and defensive pairs for the Capitals:

Alex Ovechkin — Dylan Strome —Anthony Beauvillier
Connor McMichael – Pierre-Luc Dubois — Tom Wilson
Andrew Mangiapane – Lars Eller — Ryan Leonard
Brandon Duhaime — Nic Dowd — Aliaksei Protas

Jakob Chychrun — John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin — Matt Roy
Alex Alexeyev – Trevor van Riemsdyk

Logan Thompson
Charlie Lindgren

Scratches: Taylor Raddysh, Dylan McIlrath, Ethan Bear, Ethan Frank, Mitchell Gibson.

Injured: Martin Fehervry (undisclosed), Sonny Milano (upper-body), Nicklas Backstrom (hip), T.J. Oshie (back).

1ST PERIOD

The Capitals and Canes skated to a scoreless draw in the first frame, however, the Canes dominated play in the early going. Carolina led in five-on-five shot attempts, 32-6, scoring chances, 11-3, high-danger chances, 6-2 annd expected goals for, 1.55 to 0.16.

2ND PERIOD

The Capitals struck first early in the middle frame on a snipe by Aliaksei Protas (1) from the right circle at 3:53. Brandon Duhaime (1) and John Carlson (2) had the helpers.

Protas, who recorded a career-high 66 points (30g, 36a) in 76 games played during the regular season, has registered three points (1g, 2a) in six career Stanley Cup Playoff games.

Carlson recorded the secondary assist on Protas’ goal, his second assist in as many games. With the assist, Carlson passed Ryan McDonagh (56) and Gary Suter (56) for the fourth-most playoff assists by a U.S.-born defensemen in NHL history.

The period concluded with the Capitals leading 1-0. The Canes once again dominated the possession metrics for the period, leading in five-on-five shot attempts, 33-14, scoring chances, 18-8, high-danger chances, 11-6 and expected goals for, 1.69 to 0.89.

3RD PERIOD

The Canes tied the game midway through the third period on a turnover in the Capitals own zone. Logan Stankoven (3) notched the tying tally at 9:42. J. Kotkaniemi (2) had the lone helper.

Regulations would end with the game tied, 1-1. The Hurricanes led in five-on-five shots, 10-4, scoring chances, 7-2, high-danger chances, 2-0 and expected goals for, 0.77 to 0.13.

OVERTIME

The Hurricanes won it in overtime. Jaccob Slavin (3) won it for the Canes at 3:06 of the extra frame. J. Martinook (3) and D. Orlov (3) had the helpers.

For the game, the Canes led in five-on-five shots attempts, 79-25, scoring chances, 35-15, high-danger chances, 18-9 and expected goals for, 3.82 to 1.31. Game 2 is set for Thursday night at Capital One Arena.

About Jon Sorensen

Jon has been a Caps fan since day one, attending his first game at the Capital Centre in 1974. His interest in the Caps has grown over the decades and included time as a season ticket holder. He has been a journalist covering the team for 10+ years, primarily focusing on analysis, analytics and prospect development.





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