Soft goals and a disjointed power play haunted Carolina in a lopsided loss to Washington, leaving the frustrated roster searching for chemistry and urgency after a sluggish start.
The Carolina Hurricanes entered Friday's contest with the Washington Capitals confident that they'd put on a better performance then they did in their season opener.
In a way, they kind of did as the team actually had some game flow, piled on 30+ shots and even scored two goals, but overall it wasn't nearly good enough as the team fell 5-2 at the final horn.
Despite being perhaps the team with the most amount of continuity heading into the new year, the Canes have been very out of sync as the new year has gotten rolling.
"We got outplayed and outmatched in our own building," said captain Jordan Staal. "We obviously have to step up to a man. From myself all the way down. Just have to be a little bit better. We need everyone."
From offense to defense, everything has been a bit off and the effort and desire to pull themselves out of it just hasn't been there yet.
"I think everyone needs to start pulling in the same direction," said center Logan Stankoven, who scored the team's second goal with a net-front tip. "We just seem a little lethargic these last few games."
And to make matters worse, for as good as goaltender Brandon Bussi was on Tuesday, he was very much not that against the Caps, as the second year NHLer let in a trio of softies before the game was even half finished.
"We have to be able to bail him out," said Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour. "Obviously there were a couple you'd like to have back, but I don't think that would have even mattered tonight. We have to come out with a little more urgency.
On the flipside, Washington netminder Logan Thompson was solid all night making a plethora of high-end saves on the night.
And again, it wasn't all on Bussi.
The Canes haven't been awful by any means, but these last two performances are a far cry from how they usually play.
There hasn't been a lot of cohesion on the ice for the forward lines, hence the need for Rod Blend'Amour to go into effect, and that's been even less apparent when it comes to the team playing like a five-man unit out on the ice.
"When we're playing the way we want to play, it's a five-man unit and guys are on top of each other," said defenseman Sean Walker. "There shouldn't be any room out there. Just little details we have to tighten up to get back to our game."
The team also hasn't been able to take much advantage of its power play opportunities, going 1-for-6 tonight and 1-for-12 on the year, as Sebastian Aho grabbed the team's first goal of the year on the man advantage, and that's again something that the team's disconnect has hindered.
"We need to have more of a shot first mentality," Stankoven said. "We can't play on the perimeter too much. I think we just need to look like we're attacking and generate down low. Then stuff up top and one timers will open up. I think that's something we can look at in video. Like you said, it's not good enough."
Whether it's a Stanley Cup hangover or the abbreviated training camp, whatever the reason is, the Hurricanes need to look themselves in the mirror and wake up.
The team's much too good and talented to be sleepwalking their way through the start of the season, especially having been matched up against two of the league's best teams out of the gate.
"We know this is far from our best," Stankoven said. "It is still early, so we need to keep on building here. It's not going to start with one guy. I think everyone needs to start pulling in the same direction. We just seem a little lethargic these last few games. I think we can clean some stuff up and just get back to the way we play."
The Hurricanes will hope for a better result Saturday night as they take on the Flyers in Philadelphia in the second half of a back-to-back.
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