WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Carolina Hurricanes came up short in a 2-0 decision to the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center on Monday.
Two third-period goals made the difference as the two teams played in their first preseason game as part of the current National Hockey League (NHL) training camp period.
Carolina played the first of two squads that head coach Bill Peters and his staff put together after first cuts were made on Sunday following the team’s Red-White scrimmage.
Though not generating any offense, the Hurricanes finished the game winning 65 percent of all faceoffs taken (43-66), while being outshot 31-26.
Goaltender Eddie Lack stopped all 22 shots he faced in two periods of play, while Drew MacIntyre allowed the two goals against on nine shots faced in the third.
Carolina’s power play went 0-for-2, while the penalty killing unit fended off three Washington man-advantage opportunities.
“You can see some mistakes here tonight,” Peters said.
“Situations we haven’t had time to cover. We’ve only been at it for three days, so we haven’t been able to cover everything. Whether it’s a first-year guy, or a guy who’s never been in our organization is somewhat understandable, but you can see the light bulbs gettin’ turned on by the older guys as we go here.”
The Hurricanes travel next to face Pittsburgh on Tuesday with the team’s second lineup preparing to face the Penguins at CONSOL Energy Center.
Notes: Though the Capitals won the game during regulation play, both teams played a five-minute 3-on-3 overtime period. During that session, Carolina scored as Kris Versteeg finished a tic-tac-toe passing play initiated by Eric Staal and Ryan Murphy. The additional time was provided to allow teams to prepare under game conditions for the NHL’s new overtime format of play for the 2015-2016 season.
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Highlights (NHL.com) – Washington, 2, Carolina 0
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