NHL
NHL Playoffs
WASHINGTON — For the Carolina Hurricanes, the 93rd time was the charm.
Carolina needed that many shot attempts to beat the Washington Capitals, 2-1, in overtime in Game 1 of their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series.
In the end, it was Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin beating Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson, fittingly, on a bit of a fluky one. Carolina, given the shot disparity and the five posts it hit in regulation, had earned a bit of luck.
JACCOB SLAVIN CALLS GAME FOR THE HURRICANES ‼️ pic.twitter.com/gTjiN4OZYd
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 7, 2025
“We were all over it and we knew we had to just throw everything at the net,” Slavin said postgame. “So, yeah, that mentality paid off there at the end.”
Here are my takeaways from the opening game:
Carolina’s tying goal at 9:42 could’ve been drawn in a lab. If the game up to that point had been the most Hurricanes game (derogatory), they chased it with the most Hurricanes goal (complimentary).
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Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Logan Stankoven swarmed Washington defenseman Alex Alexeyev in the circle, forcing a turnover and creating a chance from the slot. Kotkaniemi set up Stankoven all alone in front of Thompson, and the score was tied.
On Washington’s end, it was the exact sort of puck mismanagement by defensemen deep in its zone that it generally got away with against the Canadiens. It makes sense that Carolina would capitalize.
“I think Carolina is a better version of what we saw in Montreal,” Washington’s Tom Wilson said Monday. “I think Carolina’s a little bit bigger. They’re a little bit stronger. They’re a little bit faster. And they buy into what their coaches (teach). They really execute their game plan flawlessly.”
In his first game back since Timo Meier ran him in Game 4 of the first round, Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen wasn’t all that busy — but he was certainly good enough, stopping everything Washington threw at him other than Aliaksei Protas’ wide-open look in the second period.
“Of course you like what you’re seeing up front with everyone, the way we battle and get to our game,” Andersen said. “That’s always a good sign, right?”
Sure. Lots of downtime, though. That comes up often for the Hurricanes’ goalies, given their playing style.
“It seems easy, but when you’re not in the flow of something — you watch (Thompson), you could tell he was dialed in,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “He knows it. He’s been here long enough (to know) you got to stay focused. And I thought he did a good job.”
Thompson’s first period — he made 12 saves, a few of which were high-end — reminded me of two things. The first was something Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said Monday. He was recounting a Dec. 7 game in Montreal, a back-to-back for the Caps. The Canadiens jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. Then, when the Caps were trying to mount a third-period comeback, Thompson stopped a few breakaways to help them stay afloat. Washington won 4-2.
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“(In) those moments of high stress, you don’t have your best,” Carbery said. “You need your goaltender to step up and quote-unquote ‘be a gamer’ and give us one more save and keep us in this hockey game.”
That’s the version of Thompson they got in the first period Tuesday against Carolina, particularly an early sequence featuring two saves on Jordan Martinook and another on Jordan Staal.
The period, strong as the Hurricanes were, was also a nice reminder that expected goal numbers can be a bit misleading. Carolina had 1.29 at five-on-five, and it certainly controlled the run of play, but its period felt more like quantity (shots attempts at five-on-five were 32-6) over quality.
At 3:53 of the second period, with the Capitals down 15-9 in shots and getting demolished at five-on-five, Protas gave them a taste of what they’d missed with him out of the lineup.
Protas, in his second game back since a skate cut his foot late in the regular season, supported Brandon Duhaime in a puck battle along Washington’s blue line, helped create a breakaway for himself and beat Freddie Andersen with a snipe from the top of the circle.
ALIAKSEI PROTAS 🦅
The first #StanleyCup Playoffs goal of his career opens the scoring in Game 1!
🇺🇸: @espn ➡️ https://t.co/m0LyTCHYnH
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF pic.twitter.com/zdOIeiCBak
— NHL (@NHL) May 7, 2025
At certain points in the first round, that puck may have died along the boards. Maybe it would’ve turned into a chance for the other team. Protas, though, is a defensively substantive player who can help on zone exits and, clearly, score goals.
It seems unlikely, if not impossible, that the Capitals win this series by most five-on-five measures. Carolina, as ever, is a possession machine. The Hurricanes finished the regular season first in attempts, second in shots, first in expected goals for and first in expected goal share. They always have the puck, and they often put it on net.
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The Capitals are going to have to capitalize on their chances, regardless of where they come from. And that’s where Ovechkin’s physicality helps. It’s not just that he’s dialed it up in the playoffs; it’s that he deploys it wisely, as was the case about 12 minutes into the second period. He crushed Seth Jarvis along the far boards in Carolina’s end, and the Caps maintained possession, eventually generating a solid chance for Anthony Beauvillier.
“First of all, (Ovechkin’s physicality) makes them conscious of when he’s on the ice, not just when we have the puck like they’re accustomed to,” Capitals center Dylan Strome said Monday. “And I think that’s something that brings our team to life and helps us get the puck back, for one.”
(Photo of Jaccob Slavin: Scott Taetsch / Getty Images)
Sean Gentille is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the NHL. He previously covered Pittsburgh sports with the The Athletic and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the NHL for Sporting News, and he’s a graduate of the University of Maryland. Follow Sean on Twitter @seangentille
