Capitals vs. Hurricanes: How the Game Was Won

"Despite having the better of the play from the opening faceoff, a couple of unforced mistakes had the Caps down by two after the first period and down 3-0 before the second was five minutes old. It seemed like this game was destined to be one of those "executed well but couldn't finish" losses that have plagued them from time to time."

"Enter Tom Wilson. See, Tom has developed this delightful habit of leveling an absolute monster of a check on an opponent in such a way that it either leads to his teammate scoring or to him getting a goal himself. He famously laid out Montreal's Alexandre Carrier in last year's playoffs that led to a game-tying, momentum-changing goal by Brandon Duhaime (and a hit that was pretty widely credited with swinging not just the game but the series for the Caps):"

Washington Capitals fell behind 3-0 early after unforced mistakes despite controlling early play. Hendrix Lapierre scored shortly after Shayne Gostisbehere's goal, cutting the deficit to two. Dylan Strome tipped an Aliaksei Protas pass past Frederik Andersen to further rally the Caps. Team energy and momentum visibly shifted as the Caps pressed and generated chances. Tom Wilson delivered a massive, game-changing hit that frequently leads to teammate goals or his own scoring. That hit helped spark the comeback that forced overtime and resulted in a Washington win in OT.

Read at Japers' Rink