Sagnik Bagchi

6 days ago | essentiallysports.com | Sagnik Bagchi

“They’d like to do to the Canes what the Canes did to them the other night,” said the announcer as the Caps and the Canes got the puck off the blue line. So what did the Carolina Hurricanes do to the Washington Capitals in Game 1? Well, the Canes took control of the puck in the Caps’ half of the ice and fired a staggering 90 attempts in the first 60 minutes. Yet this time, Alex Ovechkin and Co. made the adjustments.

6 days ago | essentiallysports.com | Sagnik Bagchi

It’s generally Tom Wilson laying down the hits on the ice. After all, Wilson is 6’4, 225 lbs and not shy to use every bit of his physicality to win games. Although the Washington Capitals forward also takes his fair share of hits, rarely do we see Wilson getting rag-dolled after a hit. Yet, Carolina Hurricanes Jordan Staal managed to do just that, sending the Caps star off the ice. In a bid to dispossess the Caps of the puck, Carolina players landed a flurry of hits.

6 days ago | essentiallysports.com | Sagnik Bagchi

As the Winnipeg Jets took to the ice against Dallas in Game 1 after scripting a comeback for the ages against the St. Louis Blues. Cole Perfetti snatched the win from the Blues with just 2.2 left in the third period. Then came Adam Lowry, who scored the winning goal in the second overtime to knock the Blues out. On the flip side, there was one man on the Dallas Stars who arguably had a similarly epic performance in Game 7, Mikko Rantanen.

6 days ago | essentiallysports.com | Sagnik Bagchi |Sowmya Anantharaman

For the team that has built a name for fumbling with the puck in their most crucial moments, the Toronto Maple Leafs have put in some incredibly clutch performances in the last three games. The Leafs pull their act together just in time after nearly losing their 3-0 series lead against Ottawa. And now, the Leafs are rising to the occasion to take on the Florida Panthers physically head-on while edging out close wins.

1 week ago | essentiallysports.com | Sagnik Bagchi

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 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.