The Carolina Hurricanes eliminated the Washington Capitals in just five games of their second-round series. The Capitals, the NHL’s second-highest scoring team during the regular season (3.49 goals per game), managed just seven goals in their five games against the Hurricanes (1.4 goals per game).
Carolina’s defensive pressure was so relentless that shots, let alone goals, became a precious commodity for the Capitals throughout the series. The Hurricanes held the Caps to under eight shots in 11 of the 15 regulation periods, with the Capitals’ highest shot volume output being 21 in Games 2, 3, and 4.
“We battled it all series,” head coach Spencer Carbery said postgame. “[Carolina] is just relentless with their pressure, and their ability to break plays up with their sticks. There’s no team in the league like it. Doesn’t mean they’re going to win the cup. They absolutely are right there, but they are a handful.
“You can tell, too, they’ve learned now how to win this time of year, and they don’t get rattled. It’s a great series for us. I hate, hate, hate — and I won’t be able to let it go for a while — losing a series to them, but it is a great learning experience to feel what that just felt like because it was suffocating and guys had no space, could barely get shots off in that series.”
No Capitals player had more than two points in the series with John Carlson, Tom Wilson, Jakob Chychrun, Aliaksei Protas, and Dylan Strome tying at the top of the team leaderboard. Not one player scored more than one goal, meaning seven players tied for the team lead in goal-scoring at one.
“We have multiple guys that are sitting at two or three shots in five games, that have 30 goals in the regular season,” Carbery said. “So they make it really, really challenging on you. They check well. Their sticks are good. They skate. So it’s a worthy opponent. Really good team.”
Alex Ovechkin, the team’s leader in goals during the regular season (44), was the lone player to record more than 10 shots on goal (14). Aliaksei Protas, one of the 30-goal scorers Carbery mentions, recorded just three shots. The same goes for 26-goal scorer Connor McMichael, who also managed just three shots.
Overall in the series at five-on-five, the Hurricanes controlled 62.6 percent of the shot attempts, 57.7 percent of the expected goals, 57.6 percent of the scoring chances, and 52 percent of the high-danger chances. They also got unbelievable goaltending from Frederik Andersen whenever they did have a letdown, as Andersen finished with a 4-1 record, a 1.19 goals-against average, and a .937 save percentage.
The Hurricanes will now move on to the Eastern Conference Final, where they will face the Toronto Maple Leafs-Florida Panthers series winner. The Panthers are up 3-2 in the second round after a blowout 6-1 victory on Wednesday night.
