The Washington Capitals will look to bounce back from a 2-1 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes seeking a much better effort in Game 2 Thursday night. The puck drops at 7 p.m. on ESPN and you can also listen to the game on 106.7 The Fan and Caps Radio 24/7.
The Hurricanes vs Capitals betting odds on Caesars have the Capitals as 1.5 goal underdogs at home. The Hurricanes have -135 moneyline odds while the Caps moneyline is at +115. The over/under is set for 5.5 goals.
Logan Thompson stopped 31 of 33 shots faced in the 2-1 overtime loss on Tuesday night. He has a 4-2 record this playoffs through six games and ranks second in the NHL in goals against average at 2.17 and save percentage at .926.
In additon, Thompson ranks first among goaltenders with at least five games played in goals saved above expected per 60 minutes at 0.58, per Sportlogiq.
Washington is 24-7-1 in games following a los this season and 1-0 after a loss in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Capitals have won three of their last four series where they lost Game 1 at Capital One Arena.
Game 1 saw the Caps play below their standards, non Caps hockey if you will. Despite this, Washington still had the lead for a good portion of the game. About 25 minutes and also had a power play opportunity early in the third that could've put the Canes on their heels.
Carolina dominated possession and had the upper hand in other statistical categories. Jaccob Slavin would end the game in overtime to put the Canes up 1-0 in the series and it happened on Carolina's 94th shot attempt of the game.
The Caps finished the night with 34 shot attempts and that included just 14 shots on net. In the previous round against Montreal, Caps had a 2-0 series lead against Montreal before playing poorly in Game 3.
In that game the Caps made multiple turnovers and it led to Montreal goals and they had the upper hand in the special teams battle as well. But even so that game was even at 3-3 in the early third period.
Despite losing Game 3, the Caps responded that series by winning the next two games. They'll look to respond once again tonight.
If the Caps want to win Game 2 they need to do a good job putting the Hurricanes on stress mode on their end of the ice. They also need to improve their physicality after they were outhit 45-31 in Game 1.