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The Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes are ready to lock horns in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They most recently played in the 2019 second round, which saw the Canes upset the defending champion Caps. Now, Washington is back on top of the division and has a chance to finish off a dream season with a deep playoff run. Before the Hurricanes and Capitals play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, we have some bold predictions for the series.
The Hurricanes and Capitals quickly disposed of their first-round opponents in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Carolina squared off with the New Jersey Devils and won the series in five games. Without Jack Hughes, the Devils did not have the punch to compete with a solid defensive team like the Canes. The Capitals took care of the Canadiens in five games as well, leaning on their physicality and goaltending to win the series.
Who will head to the Eastern Conference Final from the Metropolitan Division? Here are some bold predictions for the Capitals-Hurricanes series.
Alex Ovechkin will keep his hot streak going
Alright, maybe we're stretching the definition of bold to say that Alex Ovechkin is going to score a bunch of goals for the Capitals. He is literally the greatest goal scorer of all time and had a solid series against the Canadiens. Ovechkin scored two goals and added an assist in their 3-2 win in Game 1, including his first overtime winner. He will add a second overtime winner in this series and lead the Capitals in goals.
This season, Ovechkin broke Wayne Gretzky's record for goals in an NHL career. He finished the regular season with 897 goals and wasn't about to stop there. Against the Hurricanes this season, he scored two goals and added an assist in three games. Back in 2019, Ovechkin led the Capitals with five assists and nine points in the seven games.
The Capitals live and die with Ovechkin's offensive production. They have great depth players who helped them win the division, but Ovechkin is still the catalyst.
The Hurricanes run with Frederik Andersen in the net
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Between the Game 5 win over the Devils and Tuesday's Game 1 against the Capitals, the Hurricanes extended Frederik Andersen. He signed a one-year deal worth $2.75 million, a $650,000 pay cut from this year. Considering his health history, the Hurricanes are not going to lock him in for a long time. But they have him playing well now, so the Hurricanes are going to keep tapping the veteran.
Whether or not that works is where the bold predictions come in. Last season, the Hurricanes leaned on Andersen in the second round against the Rangers. In five games, he posted a pitiful .878 save percentage. In past years, he has been solid in this round of the playoffs. But his recent returns have not been as solid.
The Capitals should be salivating if the Hurricanes let Andersen take the net. Pytor Kochetkov is the goalie of the future and should be the goalie of the present. But they love Andersen, and they're going to keep going with him in this series. And it won't work out well.
The Capitals will win this series in six games
The Capitals won their first playoff series since the 2018 Stanley Cup Final when they beat the Canadiens. They'll keep that streak alive by beating the Hurricanes in six games. Under Rod Brind'Amour, the Hurricanes have made the playoffs seven times and only advanced to the Conference Finals twice. In both of those appearances, in 2019 and 2023, they were swept. This is the ceiling for this squad, and with no significant offensive improvements, that will continue to be true.
The Capitals loaded up last offseason to give Ovechkin one more deep playoff run. Those moves have worked perfectly, with Jakob Chychrun re-signing in Washington and Pierre-Luc Dubois finding his scoring touch. The Capitals and Hurricanes will play a tight, physical series, but the Caps' offensive upside will win out in the end.
