Well the Washington Capitals were finally back home after a two week road trip to play the Hurricanes. Also to add to the excitement Jason Arnott and Alex Ovechkin returned to the lineup. However in the end it just wasn't enough for the Caps to prevail in a shootout.
No goals were scored in the first period by either team due to the elite goal tending. Carolina did not take long to strike in the second when Jussi Jokinen netted a power play goal. Alex Semin answered swiftly on the scoreboard roofing goalie Cam Ward to tie the contest. On the following power play chance for the Caps, the Hurricanes had a short handed chance turn into a penalty shot. Semyon Varlamov denied Chad Larose with a poke check on the attempt.
After Varly's save the Capitals were on the offensive. Marcus Johansson was the next one on the stat sheet making it 2-1. He took a pass from Semin and deked his way through the defense eventually slotting it passed Ward. Varly's strong play in the first two periods unfortunately didn't carry over to the third. He gave up the tying goal to Jeff Skinner early on in the third when it squeezed through his pads. This turned out to be costly for the Caps and I'm sure Varly would like that chance back. He ended the game with 25 saves while Cam Ward racked up 41.
The game would go to over time where Carolina played back on their heels for the majority of the five minutes. Alex Ovechkin was denied many times by Cam Ward after he dazzled through the defense with line mate Nicklas Backstrom. It then went to a shootout and the Capitals were stonewalled losing 2-0. It was a tough loss in the Verizon Center, but it was Arnott and Ovi's first game back. The team will get back to normal by Thursday vs. Blue Jackets. Tune in on Thursday at 7:30 to watch the Caps get back on track. There are five games remaining in the regular season Rock the Red.
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