| Washington Capitals vs Carolina Hurricanes | ||||
| Team | P1 | P2 | P3 | Total |
 Washington Capitals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
 Carolina Hurricanes | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Current Status: Final | ||||
Plus: They didn’t record a point, but the Protas/McMichael/Mantha line was the only real consistent bright spot offensively. They generated several high-danger chances in transition, with Protas in particular coming incredibly close to lighting the lamp on multiple occasions.
Minus: Carolina doesn’t give up many shots on goal, and tonight was no different as the Caps were held to just 17. Just nothing going offensively throughout.
Key Moment: After an Andrei Svechnikov power play goal, Evgeny Kuznetsov put the Caps right back on the kill after picking up an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The Canes would strike instantly, effectively putting any hopes of a Caps comeback to bed early.
Caps Player of the Game: As mentioned above, Aliaksei Protas stood out to me most tonight even if none of the 5000 chances he created went through.
Final Thoughts: Quietly, the Caps only have one regulation win in their last 12 games. In the grand scheme of things they’re still in a good spot in the East standings, but it feels as if they’re beginning to lose ground quickly.