Subscribe
Follow Us
The Carolina Hurricanes will not apologize for playing “boring hockey” if they win the Stanley Cup this season. They completely swallowed one of the top offenses in the league in this second-round series, and it has the Washington Capitals wondering if their success this season was all just a mirage. How far are Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals from legitimately winning a Stanley Cup?
If you ask any hockey fan to rank the second-round series, this one would likely be No. 4. However, for fans who appreciate the simplicity of the game, the Hurricanes' trapping style might've brought some nostalgia. Many teams played like the Hurricanes in Rod Brind'Amour's playing days, and he's trying to bring back some old-school hockey with his group.
It makes sense considering general manager Eric Tulsky is one of the league's most analytical minds. Brind'Amour's style prioritizes pouring shots on the other teams' net and funneling chances away from their own.
That style equals good-looking analytics on a spreadsheet. Hockey fans might not like it, but until it stops working, the Hurricanes aren't going to stray from what's gotten them this far.
Same old Alex Ovechkin for Capitals in playoffs
It seems impossible to look at Ovechkin and wonder whether Spencer Carbery should even be playing him. The NHL's all-time leading goal scorer looked like he used all his energy this season to chase that record, and the results showed it on the ice.
He earned some leeway considering he broke his leg this season and is 39 years old, but it's not the type of effort fans would like to see from their captain.
Ovechkin recorded three points in Game 1 of the first round, making people wonder if this was about to be an Ovechkin dream season where he turned back the clock and led Washington to the finals. The Capitals were the top seed in the Eastern Conference, and it seemed like they'd have a relatively easy first-round victory.
Ovechkin recorded two goals over the final four games of that series but had just one goal in five games against the Hurricanes. It was a disappointing end to the season but not one that was unfamiliar. The captain also brought this effort in last year's postseason when he recorded zero points in a four-game sweep to the New York Rangers.
The Capitals and Ovechkin shed the playoff choker label when they won the Stanley Cup in 2018. However, it could be time to reevaluate that label. Ovechkin, who played 20 years in the league and became the greatest scorer, should have more success. However, Bleacher Report shared a shocking stat after the Game 5 loss.
“The Capitals have only advanced past the second round ONCE in Alex Ovechkin's 20-year career (2018, won Cup),” they shared on social media.
Ovechkin might be the regular season's all-time leading scorer, but at least Wayne Gretzky found much more team success with four Stanley Cup titles.
Logan Thompson allowed some egregious goals
Look at the box scores, and it'd be possible to conclude that Logan Thompson didn't hurt the Capitals in the second round. After all, he outperformed his expectations during the regular season, going from an extra on the Vegas Golden Knights' 2023 championship team to the Capitals' starter.
The worry would always be whether he'd come up big when it mattered most, and he failed to do that, especially in Game 5. If you remove the two weak goals he allowed in Game 5, he would've had a shutout and led his team to Game 6. However, he allowed two from terrible angles, including the Andrei Svechnikov winner with two minutes remaining.
It might be asking too much for their goaltender to get a shutout in a crucial Game 5, but it was there for the taking with only 20 shots from the Hurricanes. The offense couldn't penetrate the Hurricanes' defense more than once, but they didn't need to when the defense only allowed 20 shots.
Thompson had a good first two games in the series, allowing only three goals on 61 shots. His performances were enough to get the job done after splitting the first two games, but he fell apart in the two games in Raleigh. Thompson allowed eight goals on 65 shots, which made his job to win the series much more difficult and put the Capitals in an unbeatable hole.
The Capitals as a whole outperformed their expectations this season. If the Hurricanes go on to win the cup, the Capitals will be just another casualty along the way. Nevertheless, the front office needs to decide whether this group is worth taking another run or if they are too far from being a legitimate threat in the postseason.
