Caps Postgame – 2-1 win over Hurricanes

Caps 2, Hurricanes 1

Caps are officially on a roll now. Maybe they aren’t playing perfect hockey. Maybe the margin for error almost every night is virtually nothing. But they keep stringing together victories and are right in the mix for a high seed in the Eastern Conference with just 13 games remaining.

Check out the details in our game story. Alex Ovechkin and Matt Hendricks scored for Washington – the latter a pure hustle play that has become a trademark for Hendricks this season. He tried to suppress a smile answering questions in the locker room afterwards, but couldn’t stop beaming. Hendricks has eight goals now. That’s one shy of his career high.

The penalty-kill unit continues to shine. The Caps took way too many penalties on Friday night, but managed to kill all five of them without getting into too much trouble. They now rank third in the NHL at 85.8%.

“We’ve been getting called on a lot and we’ve been great. I think guys who are killing penalties feel really, really confident,” said forward Mike Knuble. “You’re out there not worried at all. It’s just a matter of killing off the two minutes. Just great effort and with the pressure we’ve been applying we’ve had a ton of success on the penalty kill.”

Washington has now won 10 of 12 overall, but nine of those victories have come by one goal. That’s taking living on the edge to a whole new level. Eleven of the Caps’ last 13 wins have been by one goal. Lots goes into that – good goaltending, the penalty kill, opportunistic goal-scoring. But whatever the reason it’s working for them right now. But don’t all these close games take a mental toll on players and coaches alike. 

“I think these are more fun than blowouts. These are the ones where you got to play,” Knuble said. “It’s fun to hold a lead. You gain a lot of satisfaction winning these games. The other ones might be more fun for the fans. But these are very rewarding for the players and keep reinforcing the fact that what we’re doing is right and we’re winning games that way.”

Several players pointed out that Washington is 6-0 since the NHL trade deadline when Marco Sturm, Dennis Wideman and Jason Arnott were added in a span of three days. All three have taken to their new surroundings beautifully. With the assist on Hendricks’ goal, Arnott now has a goal and three assists in six games. 

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