2025 Postseason: Carolina Hurricanes vs. Washington Capitals 2nd Round Review

Series Recap

Game 1: Despite dominating play, the Hurricanes trailed 1-0 until Logan Stankoven tied the game midway through the third period. Forcing overtime, the Canes took the series opener on Jaccob Slavin's first postseason overtime goal, stunning the Capitals, 2-1.

Game 2: Logan Thompson continued to give the Hurricanes fits, carrying a shutout into the third period for the second straight game. Tom Wilson scored a goal and added an assist as the Capitals evened the series with a 3-1 victory.

Game 3: Frederik Andersen withstood an early peppering by the Capitals before his offense started to help him out. The Hurricanes rattled off four unanswered goals in the second and third periods to help Andersen record his first postseason shutout with the Canes in a 4-0 win to take a 2-1 series lead.

Game 4: The Hurricanes pushed the Capitals to the brink with another outstanding effort on home ice. Taylor Hall and Sean Walker had a goal and an assist each as 12 Canes found the scoresheet in a 5-2 victory to pull within a game of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Game 5: Another low-scoring game sits at 1-1 after 40 minutes, after Jordan Staal and Anthony Beauvillier traded goals in the first period. With 1:59 left in regulation, Andrei Svechnikov snuck a shot past Logan Thompson to break the tie and help the Canes end the series with a 3-1 clincher in D.C.

Washington MVP: Logan Thompson (1-4, .911 SV%, 2.59 GAA in 5 games)

We can discuss the leaky goals until we're blue in the face, but Washington gets swept if Logan Thompson doesn't play out of his mind in this series. Thompson was phenomenal in Game 1, making 31 stops, but he got no goal support. He was equally great in Game 2, earning the win. He started to get leaky in Game 3, and that proved to be detrimental. Still, his team only scored three goals in the final three games. Thompson was the only guy to show up for all five games on the Washington side.

Hurricanes' Three Stars of the Series

Third Star: Seth Jarvis (2 goals, 3 assists in 5 games)

In a series without much scoring, Seth Jarvis recorded a point in four of the five games, leading the series with five points. Jarvis recorded points in Games 2 through 5, finishing the series with an assist on the series-clinching goal and the empty-net goal to seal it. He's tied with Sebastian Aho for the team lead in points through two rounds with 10 (4-6-10). 

Second Star: Andrei Svechnikov (3 goals, 0 assists in 3 games)

I'm not sure a player has ever hit more goal posts in a series than Andrei Svechnikov did against Washington. Even with all the metal, Svechnikov scored three goals to lead all skaters. Two of those goals were incredibly important, breaking ties in Games 3 and 5, the latter of which won the Canes the series. He trails only Mikko Rantanen for the NHL lead in goals with eight.

First Star: Frederik Andersen (4-1, .937 SV%, 1.19 GAA, 1 shutout in 5 games)

Simply put, Frederik Andersen has been the best goalie in these playoffs. Through two rounds, Andersen leads all goalies in save percentage and GAA. Andersen was the least busy of the goalies in the series, but he was the cleanest. Andersen allowed just six goals in five games, never conceding more than two goals in a game. He has been the team's MVP through ten games, leading the group into the battle with minimal damage.

Final Thoughts

This group might have a case for the best defensive effort in a series in franchise history. What they did to Washington was clinical. All of Washington's stars were kept in check. Alex Ovechkin only had one goal. Tim Wilson spent more time whining and doing the Storm Surge than playing hockey. John Carlson looked lost. Dylan Strome couldn't be effective as a playmaker. No Capitals had more than one goal and two points. Washington scored seven times in the series, and only four were at 5-on-5. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes showcased their menagerie of contributors. Despite the gap during the regular season, the Canes were the far superior team in this series. There's no ifs, ands, or buts about it.