After the Caps close loss to the Penguins, it was very important to see how the team would respond against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Caps had already won their last three against the Canes, and this game would give them a chance to make it four in a row and gain ground in the Southeast Division.
The first period could certainly be divided into halves, as each had very different tempos. The first part of the period was a very aggressive one for Carolina, as they had numerous chances inside the offensive zone to go up early. But thanks to goaltender Semyon Varlamov. Varly weathered the storm early, finishing the period 16-16 on save chances.
The rest of the period revolved around Mathieu Perreault. Perreault scored a beautiful backhand shot given to him by Brooks Laich, giving the Caps the early 1-0 lead. Despite the fact that the Caps only had 8 shots in the period, they certainly made the most of it.
The second Perreault moment came when Tim Gleason delivered a hard hit, cutting Perrault, and causing the Caps training staff to come to his aid. After the hit it was clear that the physicality of the game seemed to pick up as the extra curricular activity began between the two squads.
Now it's starting to look like the type of physical, in division match up we are all accustomed to.