The Carolina Hurricanes and the Washington Capitals have a storied history as adversaries. They were long-time rivals in the Southeast Division, and they remained in the same division when the realignment came, continuing their battles in the Metropolitan Division. They've also met twice in the postseason. Today, we're talking about their most recent clash.
The anticipation for this series was already huge because of their final two meetings during the regular season. On April 2, the Canes clinched their playoff spot with a 5-1 win over Washington, but the game was more notable for several fights in the third period. Eight days later, Washington won another spirited bout in a shootout after a furious comeback by the Canes to earn a point.
The Capitals ran away with the Metro, beating the Canes by 12 points to earn their first division crown since 2020. They sported the second-best offense in the league, led by 44-goal scorer Alex Ovechkin, who'd broken the all-time goals record at the end of the season. They ran through the Canadiens in five games, giving these division foes a chance to settle things in the second round.
#16: After an early split, the Hurricanes ran away from their division foes
With Washington winning the division, the Hurricanes began the series in the nation's capital. They put forth a very strong opening period, but neither team found the back of the net. The Capitals broke the ice in the second period. On a 2-on-1, Aliaksei Protas beat Frederik Andersen from the right dot. Andersen had a good look at the shot, but Protas caught him under his blocker.
On the other end, Logan Thompson was a brick wall until, all of a sudden, a turnover gave the Canes life. Midway through the third, on their 27th shot of the contest, Logan Stankoven capitalized on a pass in a Capitals skate, snapping it past Thompson's glove to knot it at one. There wasn't much that Thompson could've done, playing deep in his crease against Stankoven in the dead slot.
Shots leaned heavily in the Canes' favor at the end of regulation, and with the game heading to overtime, one shot would be the difference. I brought this up when discussing the Islanders series in 2023. Jaccob Slavin makes one play each postseason offensively that surprises me. In Game 1, it was his shot from the point that slid through traffic and past Thompson to snatch the win, 2-1.
Game 2 started the same way as Game 1. Neither side scored in the first period, and the Capitals got the first goal in the second. This time, Connor McMichael took advantage of friendly fire by Carolina. Sean Walker tried to throw a puck deep into the offensive zone. Instead, it hit Shayne Gostisbehere in the throat, allowing McMichael to steal the puck and score on a breakaway against Andersen.
Both power plays found goals in the third period. John Carlson doubled Washington's lead less than two minutes into the period, and Gostisbehere got one back for the Canes before the halfway point. Carolina searched far and wide for the tying goal, but it never came. Tom Wilson put one into the empty net to seal the contest, tying the series at a game apiece.
Once the series went to Raleigh, everything changed for the better
Despite their Game 2 loss, the Hurricanes were in a golden spot. Home ice was on their side, and history favored them in Raleigh against the Capitals. For the third game in a row, neither team scored in the first period. However, the Canes decided they'd had enough of Washington scoring first. Once they got their first one, the home team dominated.
Andrei Svechnikov turned a face-off loss into a win, powering past Carlson to steal the puck and give the Canes their first lead of the series. Late in the middle frame, Jack Roslovic snapped a shot past Thompson on the power play to double the lead. Eric Robinson added a lethal snipe in the third, and Jackson Blake finished the job on the power play, giving the Canes a 4-0 win and a 2-1 series lead.
Game 4 felt like a lot of the same for the Hurricanes. Gostisbehere scored in the first period for the first time in the series, throwing a shot from deep that beat Thompson. It looked like a seemingly harmless shot, adding another rough goal against to the Washington netminder's ledger. Early in the second, Seth Jarvis' fly-by allowed him to pot a rebound, doubling the Canes' lead after 40.
Things got a little more interesting in the third period once Jakob Chychrun scored to shrink the Canes' lead to one, but Taylor Hall responded with a breakaway goal to ease the tension. Ovechkin got one on a 5-on-3 to make it 3-2, but Sean Walker scored the response tally, and Svechnikov put it into the empty net, icing the win for Carolina. Going back to D.C., the Canes were on the verge.
The difference in quality between the games in Raleigh and D.C. was stark. Whereas Games 3 and 4 were mostly Carolina, Game 5 took a page from the first two games in the series. Things were tight and tense for 60 minutes. Washington didn't want to see their season end, and Carolina didn't want to worry about the series going back to North Carolina.
The early scoring was confined to four minutes surrounding the halfway point in the first period. Jordan Staal started it by evoking shades of Game 7 in 2019. He snapped one from the right dot past Thompson to put the Canes on the board first. Anthony Beauvillier answered, capitalizing on a misplay by Slavin and Andersen and jumping on the loose puck to tie the game at one.
The Canes successfully challenged a Washington goal for being offside early in the second. Otherwise, both sides were concerned about not making the next mistake. Ultimately, the Capitals blinked first. Svechnikov scored the series-winning goal from a tough angle with 1:59 left in regulation, and Jarvis added the dagger into the empty net, finishing the job in five games.
This series truly came down to goaltending. Frederik Andersen, as he'd been known to do in the first two rounds, put up excellent numbers (4-1, .937 SV%, 1.19 GAA). Meanwhile, Logan Thompson fell apart after the first two games. He let in some really leaky goals, including two in the series-deciding contest. Something about the venue change must've really done something to him.
When there isn't a ton of offense, it's hard to single out big performances. For Carolina, Andrei Svechnikov scored two of the most important goals in the series in Games 3 and 5, while Seth Jarvis led the way with five points. What really stood out was how well the Canes kept Washington's stars in check, with no one scoring more than two points and Alex Ovechkin being held to just one goal.
Obviously, the series between these two in 2019 is far more memorable, and we'll talk about it in due time. I think the highs of this series were eventually tarnished by the egg that the Hurricanes laid in the Eastern Conference Finals again. This series started with a lot of promise, especially after Game 2, but things went off the rails in Raleigh, giving us a one-sided affair in Carolina's favor.
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