The Carolina Hurricanes were looking to win their third straight game on Saturday night (Jan. 31) against the Washington Capitals. They had a six-game point streak heading into the final matchup of the regular season between the two teams. However, the game ended with an overtime loss, losing 4-3 to only gain a point.
Takeaway #1: Ending January Like They Started It
Unfortunately, the Hurricanes wrap up January like how they started the month, with a blown lead that ends in a loss. While it wasn’t a loss like the 5-1 game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 30, it’s still a tough way to end a month that looked promising. The Hurricanes do extend their point streak to seven games, but another blown loss takes the sails out of what could have been three straight wins.
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The Hurricanes gave up 19 shots in the first period, a total that they’ve given up in an entire game 11 times during the 2025-26 season. The Capitals outshot the Hurricanes 13-5 in the third period and 3-0 in overtime. The home team pretty much dominated the tempo of the game, even despite being down 3-0 at one point. Rod Brind’Amour stated very directly postgame, “From the opening puck drop to the end, I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of a 60-minute game where we were that bad… They dominated us from start to finish.”
That says something from the head coach after that game, especially when the team has blown five other leads this season, along with a couple where there was no spark. While they are 33-15-6 on the season with 72 points, there’s no reason to hit the panic button. However, it’s tough to lose a game where, despite being outshot, they had a lead. Thankfully for the Hurricanes, there’s a quick turnaround as they take on the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 1).
Takeaway #2: Gotisbehere Continues Scoring Touch
Despite the loss, Shayne Gostisbhere continues his hot scoring touch since returning from injury. After scoring two goals on Thursday in the epic 5-4 comeback win on Whalers Night, he scored his ninth of the season making it 3-0 at the time in the second period. “Ghost” now has four goals and five points in the last five games he’s played.
While playing only 37 out of the 54 total games, he’s still been productive when he is in the lineup. Gostisbehere has nine goals and 36 points over that span, with five of those coming on the power play, along with 12 power-play points. He has been at least or close to a point per game all season in Carolina when in the lineup. However, a nagging lower-body injury has seen him out multiple times this season.
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If he can manage to stay healthy, he could still have a chance to get 50 points before the season ends. He’s been a big help on the power play, and the Hurricanes need him to stay on the ice in that aspect. It’ll come down to getting through the last four games before the Olympic break. Gostisbehere will be one of the players for the Hurricanes to take advantage of the almost three-week break to get some rest and hopefully recover more from the nagging injury.
Despite the loss, the Hurricanes are still leading the Metropolitan Division. Plus, they’re still at the top of the conference, tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning in points. They have the No. 2 seed due to points percentage, as they’ve played two more games than the Lightning. They will look to extend their point streak to eight games on Sunday against the Kings and hope to get back in the win column once again. Since Saturday was the first half of a back-to-back, expect Brandon Bussi to be in net.
