The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the New Jersey Devils in a game five thriller after being down 3-0 after the first period. The Hurricanes will now face the Washington Capitals in the second round, as the Caps defeated the Montreal Canadiens in five games. The tension between the Canes and the Caps has risen ever since their matchup weeks before the playoffs. The Canes took down the Caps in that matchup, but there was chaos throughout.
It seemed to be after every whistle, there were some sort of altercations going on. Eventually, in the third period, Connor McMichael of the Capitals and Jalen Chatfield of the Hurricanes dropped the gloves, and it ended with controversy. Chatfield swept the leg of McMichael, which could have led to a serious head injury. This then led to Chatfield throwing down with Caps forward Brandon Duhaime a week later in Washington as retaliation for Chatfield pulling a risky move during a fight. This will be a competitive series and could go either way. But what will this series look like in terms of how these two teams will shape up?
Both teams will be relatively rested as they both ended their first-round matchups in five games. The Caps and Canes are having health issues with both goaltenders. Logan Thompson sustained a lower-body injury in game three against the Canadiens. While Thompson played out the rest of the series, there is concern that he is not 100%. Frederik Andersen, like Thompson, also sustained an injury. In game 4 against the Devils, forward Timo Meier was crashing the net and collided with Andersen’s head, which sidelined Freddie for the remainder of the series. The Canes have Andersen listed as questionable for Game One. Pyotr Kochetkov is the probable starter until information on Andersen’s injury is given.
A big key to the Carolina Hurricanes’ success was the special teams. The power play has been the top issue in years past, but this year, it has been a different story. The Canes rank third amongst all teams in the playoffs in power-play percentage with 44.4%. The Canes recorded a power-play goal in four out of the five games against New Jersey. On the other side of the puck, the Canes’ penalty kill has been perfect so far and has yet to concede while on the penalty kill. Andrei Svechnikov has been on a tear and bagged a hat-trick in game four. Svechnikov then scored a big goal in game five that erased a 3-0 deficit. The Russian forward now has five goals so far in this year’s playoffs, and has topped Hurricanes legend Eric Staal for the most playoff goals in Canes history. Sebastian Aho is high on the list to potentially receive the Conn Smythe trophy once the playoffs are done. While the Canes lost game three in overtime, Aho was a key reason as to why the game got to overtime. Aho then had a three-point game, including the overtime winner in game five, to send the Canes to the second round.
The Washington Capitals, going into the playoffs, had high expectations as the one seed in the Eastern Conference. The Caps had to get past an underdog in the Montreal Canadiens, and they did just that. The experience and physicality lead the way to victory for the Capitals in this series, as the Habs are a young team and lack the experience in high-pressure games. Tom Wilson was a force physically as he set the tone majority of the time for the Caps. Wilson is known for his physical presence on the ice, and he showed just that. The main threats offensively were Alexander Ovechkin and Dylan Strome. Strome leads the team in points with nine in five games. Ovechkin leads the team in goals with four. The “Great Eight,” as the NHL community calls him, has shown that he can perform in big moments even at his age. His leadership and experience will play a big role in round two.
The Canes and Caps have their differences, but they share their willingness to do what it takes to win. These two teams will give it their all on the ice for a chance to go to the Eastern Conference Finals.
