Capitals and Hurricanes meet in a 2nd-round NHL playoff series with 'no secrets' and 'no surprises'
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 should 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 shoudl 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.
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AP Sports Writer Aaron Beard in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed.
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press
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