Washington Capitals: Three takeaways from the Carolina Hurricanes 6-2 drubbing against the Washington Capitals

There were only three NHL games on Friday night, with the Washington Capitals (18-13-6) hosting the Carolina Hurricanes (22-13-4) at Capital One Arena. During the first period, the home team built up a 2-0 lead on just ten shots on goal.

Eventually, the Hurricanes cut the deficit in half about five minutes into the middle period before erupting for five goals in the third to end the night with a 6-2 victory. The visitors dominated the scoresheet, limiting the Capitals to 17 shots while winning 67% of the faceoffs.

Although this contest occurred at the beginning of January, the loss hurts the Capitals, who now fall two points back of a wildcard spot with three teams ahead of them.

Meanwhile, the win inches the Hurricanes closer to catching the New York Rangers, who have run the Metropolitan Division since the beginning of the season.

Three takeaways from the Carolina Hurricanes 6-2 drubbing against the Washington Capitals

#1. Darcy Kuemper is not the answer in goal for the Washington Capitals

In 2022, weeks after leading the Colorado Avalanche to the Stanley Cup, Darcy Kuemper left the team and signed as a free agent with the Washington Capitals. Exactly one year after playing in the most important games of his career, he was sitting out of the postseason when Washington failed to qualify.

Meanwhile, Kuemper had a losing record at 22-26-7, which he is on pace for again in 2023-24, sporting a 9-9-2 record after 20 games. Despite making starter money ($4 million), he's been outplayed by a younger Charlie Lindgren, who is a big reason why the Capitals are five games over .500.

During the Hurricanes game, where Kuemper allowed five goals and skated away with a .848 save percentage (SV%), he's improved to just 1-3-0 in his last four starts, giving up 18 goals and working a low .859 SV%.

Although not all the blame can be placed on his shoulders, his subpar performances are a significant reason why the Capitals have struggled to win games since his signing.

#2. Alex Ovechkin continues to collect points but can't light the lamp for the third straight contest

Alex Ovechkin has worked on tallying the second-most goals in NHL history for almost two decades. Heading into 2023-24, he was 65 goals away, and the consensus was that he'd get halfway to the total this year and break the record the following year.

However, this season has been unkind to 'The Great 8,' who only has eight goals through 37 games and only got to that total recently with goals in back-to-back contests for the second time this season.

Surprisingly, he's still leading the team in scoring with 25 points, but when the entire offense is built around one player, and he's struggling, it has a ripple effect down the lineup.

Considering the Washington Capitals are in a fight with six other teams for two playoff spots, there will be a lot of questions surrounding this team down the stretch and close to the NHL trade deadline.

Whether Ovechkin can snap the team out of the funk and chase immortality continues to be a big talking point, overshadowing how mediocre Washington is.

#3. The Carolina Hurricanes are slowly creeping towards meeting all the preseason expectations

The Hurricanes were a busy team in the offseason, retooling their lineup in hopes of advancing past the Eastern Conference Final for the first time since 2006.

Ultimately, many in the hockey community predicted they would be the favorites to capture the Stanley Cup. Still, after going 13-8-1 in the first two months of the season, they stumbled in early December, dropping four straight and losing six of eight games.

Although there were rumors about the end of head coach Rod Brind'Amour's tenure behind the bench, all that talk was premature since the Hurricanes are on a five-game winning streak.

They are playing their best hockey of the season, outscoring opponents 25-10 during this stretch and finally improving the team's goal differential, which was only plus-one at 111-110 before the streak.

After another huge night against the Washington Capitals, the Hurricanes are slowly creeping back into the conversation as one of the league's best teams and closing the gap between themselves and the Rangers for the division title.

Even though there is still half a season to play, Carolina may just be hitting their stride, piecing it all together, and will be one of the most difficult teams to play against in the season's final months.