By Stephen Whyno, Associated Press and WRAL Sports

Carolina Hurricanes	0
Washington Capitals	0
ESPN | 2nd – 16:57

To the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs we go – this time the Carolina Hurricanes clash with Metro Division rival Washington. The Capitals will host game one and game two, before Carolina comes back to Raleigh for game three and game four.

The Hurricanes advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after beating the New Jersey Devils in five games in the first round, while the Capitals beat the Montreal Canadiens in five games.

Washington finished the regular season with the most points in the Eastern Conference and have home-ice advantage in the series. The Hurricanes went 2-1-1 against the Capitals this season, losing once in an overtime shootout.

After each playoff game, WRAL’s Chris Lea and Pat Welter will break down the biggest moments with insider analysis from former NHL pro Shane Willis. Tune into WRAL at 11:25 p.m. for postgame coverage.

Follow along below for live updates throughout game one.

0-0 | End of the first period

Most of the first period was exactly what the Carolina Hurricanes would want: dominating in most parts of the game. A 13-5 shot advantage, winning 72.2% of the faceoffs, Frederik Andersen with a few clutch saves. Unfortunately for Carolina, no goals scored. The Canes and Caps had a penalty each, both killed the penalties successfully.

Something else to keep in mind, Carolina’s defense is holding the Caps down in 5v5 – Washington has just 2 shots on goal in that situation.

0-0 | 3:09 remaining in the first period

Both teams go without a goal in their first power play opportunity.

0-0 | 5:09 remaining in the first period

Carolina has a chance at its first power play of the sescond round – Brandon Duhaime is called for a holding against former Washington Capital Dmitry Orlov. Historically, Carolina has struggled during the power play in the postseason, but in the first round aginst the New Jersey Devils, the Canes scored on 31.6% of its power plays, fourth best in the NHL.

0-0 | 10:58 reamining in the first period

The Hurricanes succesfully kill the penalty, surviving a few Capitals shots, including a strong one-timer from Alex Ovechkin. Frederik Andersen has three saves in this one, all three coming on the power play.

0-0 | 12:58 remaining in the first period

The Carolina Hurricanes have played exactly how they want early against the Capitals. In the first five minutes, the Canes dominated offensive zone time including an 11-1 shot attempt difference. It’s been a physical matchup, 8 combined hits, but even with the strong early play, the Hurricanes are in a tough spot early. Sebastian Aho picks up the first penatly of the series, high-sticking against Alex Alexeyev.

The Hurricanes were the only team in the first round with a perfect penalty kill, holding the Devils out of the net in 15 power plays.

Preview

There is a huge difference between how the Carolina Hurricanes and the Washington Capitals try to score goals.

The Hurricanes have by far the highest shot volume in the NHL playoffs, while the Capitals led by NHL career goal-scorer Alex Ovechkin are more selective and use their defense to generate offense by forcing turnovers. When it comes to defending, the divisional rivals who meet in the second round beginning with Game 1 on Tuesday night at Washington mimic each other.

As Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said, “We play the exact same way.” That makes the series a showdown with “no secrets,” veteran Capitals defenseman John Carlson said.

“There’s no surprises,” his coach, Spencer Carbery, said Monday after practice. “We just know the ins and outs of a lot of their systems because we play the same thing. .. It just becomes two teams (of) who can do it better and who can do it more consistently for a long period of time.”

The Hurricanes and Capitals each went into the playoffs with home-ice advantage and won their first-round series, against New Jersey and Montreal, respectively, each in five games. The teams have been idle for nearly a week.

They last played a series in 2019, won by Carolina in seven.

“We’re definitely ready,” said Sebastian Aho, who led Carolina in scoring against the Devils with eight points and is now a father after his wife gave birth to the couple’s first child Friday. “We’re definitely rested. We’ve been sharp. We’ve been practicing well. It’s going to be a good fight, but we’re ready for it.”

Special teams in round 1

The Hurricanes thrived on the power play in round 1, stopping all 15 Devils power-play tries. Carolina is the only playoff team to check in at 100% on the PK while also scoring a shorthanded goal.

The power play was an area that has been a concern for years. Not this time. Carolina converted 6 of 19 chances, scoring at a rate of 31.6%, fifth-best in the first round, after clicking at just 14.9% over the previous six playoff appearances.

The Capitals, who allowed the Canadiens to go 5 of 15 on the power play to rank 13th of 16 teams at 66.7% on the kill, have their hands full. It helps to have big forward Aliaksei Protas back from an extended injury absence.

Strome and Ovechkin

Dylan Strome, a point-a-game producer during the season, led Washington in scoring in the first round with nine points. The only player who averaged more? Three-time NHL MVP Connor McDavid.

Strome’s contributions may fly under the radar on a team with Ovechkin and Tom Wilson, but Carbery credited Canadian broadcasters for recognizing the 28-year-old center’s huge impact on the series.

“He should get that recognition because what he’s done offensively,” Carbery said. “He had a great first round, and he deserves a ton of credit for why we are where we are.”

So does Ovechkin, who scored four goals and had some big hits among his 19 over five games, an impressive feat at age 39.

“He has the ability to to change the game with a hit, with a goal, with a big play, with a blocked shot,” Wilson said. “That’s what leaders do: They step up in the tough moments and put their body on the line.”

Deep lines

Since the Hurricanes dealt Mikko Rantanen at the trade deadline, they’ve relied on their forward depth to keep the pressure on with an aggressive forecheck and puck-control philosophy. Fourth-line center Mark Jankowski illustrated that against the Devils.

Brind’Amour tweaked his forward groupings to insert Jankowski – a trade-deadline addition who had eight goals in 19 regular-season games with Carolina — over Jack Roslovic, and it helped at even strength and on the penalty kill. Brind’Amour said Jankowski’s “direct” style is suited for the playoffs, so it seems likely the Hurricanes stay with him to start this series.

“Obviously I wanted to be in there right away,” Jankowski said. “But we have such a good team and our depth is something that we take a lot of pride in. It’s a huge strength of ours.”

Getting heathier

Carolina will have No. 1 goaltender Frederik Andersen back after he was knocked out of Game 4 of the first round, giving way to backup Pyotr Kochetkov for the rest of the series. Andersen also has a fresh contract extension. Center Jesperi Kotkaniemi should be back after taking a stick to his right eye late in Game 5, drawing the penalty that paved the way for Aho’s winning goal.

Washington got a scare when goalie Logan Thompson left Game 3 at Montreal with an injury, but he returned a few nights later and was excellent in stopping 132 of 143 shots in the series.

“He was awesome all series, including when I ran him over,” Strome said. “He bounced back pretty good from that, so I’m very thankful for that.”

The Capitals got Protas back at the end of the first round after missing three weeks with a skate cut to his left foot.

Carolina Hurricanes vs. Washington Capitals series schedule

• Game 1: at Washington, Tuesday, May 6, 7 p.m. (ESPN, 99.9 The Fan)
• Game 2: at Washington, Thursday, May 8, 7 p.m. (ESPN, 99.9 The Fan)
• Game 3: at Carolina, Saturday, May 10, 6 p.m. (TNT, 99.9 The Fan)
• Game 4: at Carolina, Monday, May 12, 7 p.m. (TNT, 99.9 The Fan)
• Game 5: at Washington (if necessary), Thursday, May 15, TBD (TNT, 99.9 The Fan)
• Game 6: at Carolina (if necessary), Saturday, May 17, TBD (99.9 The Fan)
• Game 7: at Washington (if necessary), Monday, May 19, TBD (ESPN, 99.9 The Fan)

Postgame analysis: After each playoff game, WRAL’s Chris Lea and Pat Welter will break down the biggest moments with insider analysis from former Hurricanes player Shane Willis. Tune into WRAL at 11:25 p.m. for postgame coverage.

Source: wralsportsfan.com