By WRAL Sports and AARON BEARD, AP Sports Writer

Washington Capitals 0 Carolina Hurricanes 4 Final

Raleigh, N.C. — After a couple of tightly contested contests, the Carolina Hurricanes open the flood gates in the second period, winning Game 3 against the Washington Capitals at home and taking a 2-1 lead in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, 4-0 the final.

The first 30 minutes of the game were a defensive slugfest. Neither team made many mistakes, and both goalies were doing their job in net. Andrei Svechnikov got the scoring started, after the Hurricanes won a faceoff in front of Caps net, Svechnikov gets control of the puck and rifles it just inside the post past goalie Logan Thompson to take the 1-0 lead. Svechnikov leads the Hurricanes with 6 goals this postseason, which is tied for third most in the NHL. Svechnikov has tied Eric Staal (43) for the second-most postseason points in Hurricanes/Whalers history.

Carolina added another one during a power play a few minutes later. Taylor Hall and Brent Burns teamed up to find Jack Roslovic for the score, his first of the postseason. Carolina has a power play goal in back-to-back games.

Then minutes into the third period, Logan Stankoven and Jack Roslovic find Eric Robinson for the goal, also his first of the postseason.

Finish things off with a Jackson Blake power play goal, and the Canes beat the Caps 4-0.

Frederik Andersen was solid in net all game for the Canes. He finished with 21 saves and a shutout. That’s the 4th in the playoffs in his career and the first the Carolina.

The Canes will have a chance to take a 3-1 lead in the series on Monday in Raleigh. The game is set to start at 7 p.m.

Live Updates

Tied at 1-1 through two games, the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals head to Raleigh for Game 3 in the best-of-7 series of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Hurricanes came away with an overtime win in Game 1, while the Caps won Game 2 in Washington D.C., 3-1 the final.

“I have a lot of belief in our group and I feel like Game 1 to Game 2 and significant parts of Game 2, you can see us getting to the level that we’re going to need to play at,” Washington coach Spencer Carbery said, “and it’s going to even get a little bit more difficult going on the road.”

“Obviously last night I think we could’ve been a little better,” said Carolina defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere on Friday. Gostisbehere had the lone goal for the Canes in Game 2.

“Credit to them, they played a better game for sure. I think for us it’s just getting back to it. We know what type of game we play, everyone does, and we’re just going to keep doing it,” Gostisbehere said.

Mark Jankowski will miss Saturday night’s game after his injury sustained in Game 1. Frederik Andersen will start in net.

Follow along below for live updates throughout the game.

3-0, Hurricanes | 16:46 remaining in the second period

Eric Robinson scores for the first time in the postseason! Logan Stankoven and Jack Roslovic with the assists.

2-0, Hurricanes | 19:03 remaining in the second period

Canes kill another power play.

2-0, Hurricanes | End of the second period

The Caps finish the second period with a, let’s say questionable high stick penalty against Jordan Staal. There will be 1:16 remaining in the power play for the Caps to start the third period. Carolina has allowed one goal in seven power plays against the Capitals and one goal in 22 power plays this postseason.

2-0, Hurricanes | 1:03 remaining in the second period.

Carolina scores on the power play, Taylor Hall and Brent Burns team up to find Jack Roslovic for the score. Carolina has a power play goal in back-to-back games. The Canes are 28.5% on the power play this series.

1-0, Hurricanes | 2:36 remaining in the second period

For the first time tonight, the Canes are in the power play. Capitals get called for holding.

1-0, Hurricanes | 7:26 remaining in the second period

Andrei Svechnikov does it again! Carolina wins the faceoff, Svechnikov gets control of the puck and rifles it just inside the post past Capitals goalie Logan Thompson to take the 1-0 lead. Svechnikov leads the Hurricanes with 6 goals this postseason, which is tied for third most in the NHL.

0-0 | 9:49 remaining in the second period

Checking in about halfway through the second period and the stats reflect the even nature of this contest. Caps lead shots on goal 12-11 and faceoffs won 18-16, Canes are up 27-21 on hits. A lot of Carolina’s shots are coming from the outside, not a lot of action in front of the crease.

0-0 | 16:03 remaining in the second period

Washington gets a couple of shots off during the 4v4, but Frederik Andersen picks up two more saves. He’s up to 11 on the night.

0-0 | 18:03 remaining in the second period

Carolina’s Jackson Blake and Washington’s Pierre-Luc Dubois draw penalties for roughing, it’ll be 4v4 for two minutes.

0-0 | End of the first period

At the end of the first period, we’re still scoreless between the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Captials. The Canes are getting chances, but the Caps are continuing the aggressive trend from Game 2, leading Carolina 9-6 with shots on goal.

It’s the third straight scoreless first period between these two teams this series.

Frederik Andersen has been busy in net, especially in the first few minutes of the first period. He has nine saves.

Brent Burns drew a penalty for tripping in the first, but the Canes were able to complete the kill. Carolina has allowed one goal in six power plays against the Capitals and one goal in 21 power plays this postseason.

0-0 | 8:14 remaining in the first period

Canes succesfully kill the penalty, Seth Jarvis even has a near short-handed goal, but Thompson makes a great save on the break. Carolina has allowed one goal in six power plays against the Capitals and one goal in 21 power plays this postseason.

0-0 | 10:14 remaining in the first period

First penalty of the game – Brent Burns is called for tripping. Capitals on the power play.

0-0 | 13:53 remaining in the first period

Just like with most of this series, it’s tight early. Caps have the early lead with shots on goal (4-2), but the Canes are still peppering Washington goalkeeper Logan Thompson.

0-0 | 18:37 remaining in the first period

Plenty of chacnes for these two teams early, Frederik Andersen has two early saves, including a great look on the break from the Caps. Seth Jarvis has an early shot on goal for Carolina.

Preview

MORRISVILLE, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes dominated play for one road game then spent significant stretches of the next controlling the flow of action. It was a two-game start good enough to take home-ice advantage away from the Washington Capitals in their second-round playoff series.

“I’ve liked how we’ve played,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said Friday.

Shane’s take: Canes can’t match Caps’ desperation in Game 2

Now the Hurricanes are set to host the Capitals for Game 3 on Saturday, the winner taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series. That’s one of two Game 3s in the NHL on the schedule, the other being Edmonton returning home with a chance to take a 3-0 series lead on Vegas.

Carolina won 2-1 in overtime to open the Eastern Conference series, though it took the Hurricanes well into the third period to beat Logan Thompson for the first time on a night when they otherwise dominated play. The Hurricanes kept firing shots and using the forecheck to aggressively keep the pressure on in the offensive zone, finishing with a 33-14 edge in shots on goal, as well as scoring chances (40-20) and high-danger chances (19-13) according to Natural Stat Trick.

The Capitals responded with a 3-1 win in Thursday’s Game 2 and did a better job of countering the Hurricanes’ steady pressure, led by the two-way presence of Tom Wilson.

“I have a lot of belief in our group and I feel like Game 1 to Game 2 and significant parts of Game 2, you can see us getting to the level that we’re going to need to play at,” Washington coach Spencer Carbery said, “and it’s going to even get a little bit more difficult going on the road.”

Now the series shifts to Raleigh, where the Hurricanes won all three of their games in the first-round win against New Jersey. Carolina will have the backing of a raucous home crowd and the benefit of last change when it comes to sending out lineups after the whistle to hunt for the best matchup.

“Matchups play a role, a significant role in the series, and it’s our job to navigate it and whether we get the last change or not and the things that I can do to manipulate some of the matchups,” Carbery said.

Hurricanes rookie Jackson Blake builds upon his father’s legacy in the NHL

For the Hurricanes, the goal is to convert more of those steady streams of shots into scores. Carolina ranked second in the league during the regular season by averaging 31.68 shots compared to Washington ranking 22nd at 27.62. After getting that big edge in Game 1, it was much tighter (28-21) for Carolina in Game 2, though the Hurricanes turned up the pressure with a 17-7 edge in third-period shots.

Despite all of that, the Hurricanes have the same number of 5-on-5 goals as the Capitals so far (two).

“Obviously last night I think we could’ve been a little better,” said Carolina defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, who had the Hurricanes lone Game 2 goal on the power play. “Credit to them, they played a better game for sure. I think for us it’s just getting back to it. We know what type of game we play, everyone does, and we’re just going to keep doing it.”

When/Where to Watch: Game 3, Saturday, 9 p.m. EDT (TNT, truTV)

Series: Oilers lead 2-0.

Edmonton’s Calvin Pickard has been a journeyman goalie and Adin Hill — though not considered a Vezina Trophy-type of goaltender — helped lead the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup two years ago.

But through two games, Pickard has had the upper hand.

He was especially critical in Thursday night’s 5-4 overtime victory that put the Oilers two wins from advancing go the Western Conference final.

“It’s not too often after a game where a goalie lets in four goals that you’re raving about how well he played,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “He stole one for us. If you’re going to have a long run in the playoffs, you’re going to need games once in a while from your goalie to play like that and steal one.”

Pickard was instrumental in helping the Oilers come back from 2-0 down to Los Angeles in the first round and win four consecutive games.

Hill’s postseason has been more uneven.

He began slowly in the first-round series against Minnesota and finished strong. The Golden Knights will need him to again after he gave two soft goals in a three-goal second period in Game 2.

“There’s positions and areas of the game you’ve got to outplay them,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “He’s going to have to do that at some point.”

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AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno in Washington and AP Sports Writer Mark Anderson in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

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