Matt Hendricks Finishes Third Period Comeback for the Capitals

For the first time since last season’s franchise record 14-game winning streak, the Washington Capitals have won seven games in a row after defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 Friday night at Verizon Center.

“I didn’t think we were very sharp,” said Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau after the game. “They [the Hurricanes] had 40 shots on goal. I think they were carrying the play. They were beating us to the puck. We made the plays in the third period that we needed to win and that was it. I think they are probably pretty frustrated right now.”

Frustrated is one way to put it. Late in the third period, after the Capitals had taken the lead, the Hurricanes had an apparent goal washed out by the referees. The play was blown dead when Washington goaltender Braden Holtby made an initial save on a Carolina shot as the referee thought he had covered the puck. As it turns out, he missed the puck and left a big rebound. A Carolina player found the puck and put in the net after the whistle had blown. The play could not be reviewed and the game continued.

“He [the referee] had his whistle in his mouth before the puck even got close to [Holtby’s] glove. It’s just a [expletive] call. It’s pretty costly,” said Carolina head coach Paul Maurice when asked about the play.

The missed call wasn’t the only reason he had to be angry. His team had been perfect this season when leading after two periods (21-0-0) before Friday’s game.

As has been the case lately for the Capitals, the teams skated to a scoreless tie after one period. The Caps had a few decent chances in the frame, but trailed the Hurricanes in shots on goal 13-9.

The second period had a slower pace with only a few quality chances for either team until the 19th minute. Tuomo Ruutu had the puck in the left wing faceoff circle and fired it past a screened Holtby for his 15th of the season.

It was the first goal Holtby had allowed in 156:15 and the first he had allowed since being recalled from Hershey. The rookie netminder has stopped 174 of 178 shots in his past six games for a .978 save percentage. He also has a 4-0-1 record at the Verizon Center this season with a 0.94 goals against average in those games.

“If you can’t get fired up for this crowd, you don’t have a heartbeat,” Holtby said after the game.

The Caps came out strong in the third period when Alex Ovechkin fired a simple wrist shot from just inside the blue line on Carolina’s Cam Ward. It flew past Ward to extend Ovechkin’s point streak to seven games (four goals, seven assists).

The pivotal play came seven minutes into the period at the end of a penalty kill shift for the Capitals. Matt Hendricks blocked a Carolina shot and the puck bounced directly to Jason Arnott as he left the penalty box for a breakaway. Cam Ward made a great stop on Arnott, but no Carolina defenders picked up Hendricks as he buried the rebound for his eighth goal of the season.

“He is going to get those dirty goals, in the crease,” said head coach Boudreau after the game. “I think it was his first one in 16 games or something, so [I’m] happy for him because he works really hard all the time and he deserves some success offensively.”

While the Capitals won Friday night, the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning each lost, putting Washington comfortably in second place in the Eastern Conference with 88 points, just two behind Philadelphia for the lead.

It doesn’t get easier for the Caps as they play the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday afternoon.

Additional Notes

-   The Capitals are now 21-16-4 when their opponent scores first this season. That’s three more wins than when they score first (18-4-6).

-   The Carolina Hurricanes attempted 81 shots (41 shots, 26 blocked, 14 missed) on goal to Washington’s 49 (26 shots, 10 blocked, 13 missed).

-   Dennis Wideman was plus-2 tonight, to make him plus-7 in just six games with Capitals. He was minus-26 in 61 games with the Florida Panthers this season.