For the first 25-30 minutes of Game 3, the Capitals did something they hadn’t managed to do for much of the rest of the series, and that was control the game and slow the Hurricanes’ attack. The only thing that was missing from that control was actual goals, as all 12 of the the Caps’ shots in the game’s first half were turned aside by Frederik Andersen.
That lack of offense – something that has been an issue for both teams in this series – would prove costly as the game went on.
At some point in the second period, Rod Brind’Amour made a switch in his matchups:
Hurricanes appear to abandoned these matchups in second period. Staal vs. Strome's line. Aho vs. Dubois.
— Tom Gulitti (@tomgulittinhl.bsky.social) May 10, 2025 at 7:19 PM
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Whether it was the matchup adjustment or simply the Canes having bided their time and gathered their energy, they began to tilt the ice the other direction, forcing the Caps to ice the puck on a regular basis and take defensive-zone draw after defensive-zone draw. And at 12:31 of the second period, yet another defensive-zone draw finally bit the Caps – ironically, one they won, although the victory was short-lived:
Something went wrong trying to get this video from NHL.com please try deleting this block and inserting again.Just brutal defense by John Carlson and Rasmus Sandin to let the Andrei Svechnikov – aka the one guy on Carolina you don’t want to have the puck – not only have it but force his way to the front of the net and break the scoreless tie. From there, it was all Carolina, with the Caps having no answer offensively or defensively for the Hurricanes and eventually falling 4-0.
They’ll get a chance at revenge, and redemption, tomorrow night for a very important Game 4.