It’s not easy to dominate a team with heavy hitters like Alex Ovechkin, Tom Wilson, Jakob Chychrun, and others. While a young Canadiens squad did manage to break through during certain periods, the Carolina Hurricanes almost made it look effortless. “It wasn’t good, and that’s the bottom line,” said Washington Capitals coach Spencer Carbery about how his team played. Even the Caps players agreed that the Canes were in the driving seat.

“I felt like we didn’t play our style of hockey tonight. We kind of let them dictate the game,” admitted Caps forward Dylan Strome. Yet, what truly surprised the Capitals coach was how his team couldn’t succeed despite the familiarity with the Canes’ playbook. In fact, Carbery even had to clarify that his bold statement about sounding like a ‘broken record’ when calling Carolina “predictable” was far from an insult.

So what did Spencer Carbery exactly say? “They’re the most predictable team in the National Hockey League. Out of all 32 teams, I think you could ask any coach in this league, is you know exactly what you’re going to get. It’s the easiest pre-scout,” said the Washington Capitals coach. “That’s not meant disrespectfully,” clarified the 43-year-old.

“That’s a compliment to what Rod Brind’Amour and what they do, because everybody’s on the same page with exactly what they do,” added the Caps coach. In fact, Spencer Carbery didn’t expect his team to struggle so hard, knowing how Carolina likes to play on the ice. The Caps coach even admitted that Carolina didn’t surprise them with any new tricks up their sleeves.

“There’s nothing that they did yesterday from a systematic standpoint that caught us surprised. They did it at a very high level,” confessed the Carbery. The coach also explained that the Capitals’ defense fell woefully short of handling Carolina’s offense. The Canes spent way too much time in the Washington Capitals’ half. They may have scored even more if it wasn’t for Logan Thompson making 31 saves.

Can the Washington Capitals turn it around?

While the Caps got absolutely dominated by the Carolina Hurricanes, who fired 90 attempts in 60 minutes, Spencer Carbery thinks they can certainly turn the game around. This relentless offense has been the Canes’ signature all season. The Washington Post’s columnist Barry Svrluga put it best: “Get used to it. It’s what the Hurricanes have done all year. It’s who they are.”

That’s also what the Washington Capitals are thinking. While the NHL coach was surprised they couldn’t deal with it in the first game, he has promised to make changes before Game 2. “We’ll regroup, and we’ll get ready for game two,” said the Caps head coach. Meanwhile, Carolina’s coach knew exactly how the Caps felt when their approach didn’t work out.

Rod Brind’Amour was glad the “trust in the game plan” paid off against the Capitals. “There’s a certain game plan. Both teams have it. I thought we were on it tonight. Sometimes you don’t get rewarded, but tonight we did,” added the Carolina Hurricanes coach. Unfortunately for the Capitals, their game plan fell apart.

So while it’s back to the drawing board for the Caps, Carbery also knows that Logan Thompson has been “fantastic” in front of the net. If the defense steps up to support the Washington Capitals’ netminder, then who knows? Maybe Carolina will have a much more difficult Game 2.