A few critical adjustments for the Capitals to have success in Game 2
Photo credit: The Hockey Writers
The Washington Capitals must make multiple key adjustments before Game 2 if they want to avoid heading into the weekend down 0-2 in the series to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Carolina seized home-ice advantage from the Capitals with a 2-1 overtime victory in Game 1 of the series.
The Capitals will need to make these critical adjustments in Game 2.
The Capitals need to chip more pucks into the neutral zone.
Christopher Babos from The Hockey Writers writes that in Game 1, Carolina dominated with its signature puck-possession style, culminating in Jaccob Slavin's overtime winner.
So far in the playoffs, the Hurricanes have controlled play impressively, spending 46.6% of their time in the offensive zone, tops among playoff teams, thanks in part to Shayne Gostisbehere's standout 53.8% mark. Defensively, they've kept pressure off by spending just 34.3% of time in their own zone, the lowest rate in the league.
"The new blueprint should be to push the play into the neutral zone. Carolina has played a postseason-low 19.2% of its games in the middle of the ice in the 2025 Playoffs. This change will allow the Capitals to avoid being under siege from wave after wave of Hurricanes attackers." -Babos
Here's what Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery had to say ahead of a critical Game 2.
«We'll talk about all the things that have to change for Game 2. There's a lot of X's and O's, a lot of physicality stuff, a lot of puck battle stuff. We'll narrow it down. But we'll give 'em a concrete plan.» -Carbery
The Capitals need to be more physical and deliver more hits.
Despite having a more physically built lineup, the Capitals were outmuscled in Game 1, getting outhit 44-31 by the Hurricanes. Forward Brandon Duhaime , who tied for the team lead with four hits, emphasized that physical play is central to Washington's identity.
«Playing physical, I think that's been our identity all year, playing that hard, physical game, so we've just got to adjust to that.» -Duhaime
The Capitals needs to significantly reduce the Hurricanes' shot attempts on goal.
In Game 1, the Capitals gave up far too many chances, with Carolina directing more than 90 shot attempts their way, 33 of those hitting the net. Washington, by comparison, generated just 34 total chances and put only 14 shots on goal. The disparity highlights just how much time the Hurricanes spent in the offensive zone and how little pressure the Capitals applied in return.
«We can't defend for that amount of time we defended last night, be under attack for as long as we were, and expect to have success in this series. But we understand that Carolina, and what they do, they're going to control play for significant portions of the game. Ninety-(four) shot attempts is a little high. So, we're going to need to bring that down.» -Carbery
Game 2 is set for 7:00pm from Capital One Arena in Washington.
| POLL | ||
MAI 8 | 15 ANSWERS A few critical adjustments for the Capitals to have success in Game 2 Do you think the Capitals can bounce back in Game 2 against the Hurricanes? | ||
| yes | 12 | 80 % |
| no | 3 | 20 % |
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