Hurricanes outlast Capitals in OT, nab home ice advantage after Game 1 win
The Carolina Hurricanes could have easily been frustrated Tuesday.
The Canes controlled much of the opening game of their Stanley Cup playoff series with the Washington Capitals, but had to play from behind while trying to find a way to get the puck past Caps goalie Logan Thompson.
But the Canes stuck with their game, maintained their patience and emerged with 2-1 victory in overtime on a shot from the point from defenseman Jaccob Slavin.
Jordan Martinook pushed the puck from behind the Caps net out to Slavin at the right point. With Seth Jarvis and Jordan Staal screening Thompson, Slavin got the shot through for the sudden victory at 3:06 of OT.
“I was just trying to get it to the net and I knew we had some numbers at the net,” Slavin said. “I didn’t know it went in until I saw Jordan Staal coming with his arms up yelling at me.”
The Canes will look to take a 2-0 series lead Thursday in Game 2 at Capital One Arena in Washington.
“Any time you can get a win in the series, whether it’s home or on the road, it’s always a boost of confidence,” Slavin said. “And especially to get that first one, and to be on the road is huge for us and our momentum going forward.
A goal by the Caps’ Aliaksei Protas early in the second period and a 1-0 lead stood up until Canes winger Logan Stankoven tied the score 1-1 at 9:42 of the third period. After a Caps turnover in their zone, Canes center Jesperi Kotkaniemi found Stankoven open in the low slot for the shot.
“Sometimes, not everything is going to go in and you have to be patient,” Stankoven said.
The Caps’ Jakob Chychrun was called for high-sticking Andrei Svechnikov with 2:07 left in regulation, but the Canes could not take advantage as Washington killed it off to get to overtime.
Much was said before Tuesday’s game about the two teams not facing off in the playoffs since 2019. The Caps won the first two games that year, both at home, but the Canes won the series in seven games to knock out the defending Cup champs in the first round.
But it’s a new year, a different series. The Canes rolled past the New Jersey Devils in five games in the first round and the Caps did the same against the Montreal Canadiens. to reach the second round for the first time since 2018.
Goalie Frederik Andersen, injured in Game 4 against New Jersey, was the starter Tuesday while the Caps again had Thompson in net as the two Metropolitan Division rivals went at it. Andersen faced just 14 shots in a tight-checking game.
“He was huge for us,” Stankoven said. “They get that second one and the game is a whole different story.”
Thompson made some hard saves look routine and made all the stops. He had a lot of help from those defending in front of him, the Caps blocking shot after shot, and also had a little good fortune — three times in regulation the Canes had attempts clang off the metal, including a Seth Jarvis shot in the third.
The Canes had a 31-14 shooting edge in regulation, with an 11-3 edge in the third period. Carolina had 91 total shooting attempts in the first 60 minutes but had 31 shots blocked by the Caps, six each by Brandon Duhaime and Matt Roy.
“We were on it tonight,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said of his team’s shooting mentality. “Sometimes, you don’t get rewarded but tonight we did.
“I don’t know how many shot blocks they had tonight but they had a lot. That’s why they’re one of the best, because they’re willing to do that. You have to know that going in and you have to also not be deterred by that and keep putting it there.”
After a scoreless first period that had the Canes control play, the Caps produced the series’ first goal 3:53 into the second as Protas scored off the rush.
Duhaime made a play at the Washington blue line to get the puck and spring a two-on-one in transition. Protas carried the puck down the right wing and got off a wrister from the top of the circle that beat Andersen to the blocker side.
For Protas, 24, it was the first career playoff goal for a player who suffered a serious cut to his left foot late in the regular season.
The Canes got a few offensive opportunities in the period and Svechnikov, coming off a five-goal first playoff series, rang a shot off the metal in second.
The Canes had the start they wanted for a playoff opener on the road, even as the opening period was scoreless.
The Canes kept the puck in the Caps end — at one point in the period they had 2:41 of offensive zone time to the Caps’ 19 seconds. They won faceoffs — 13 of 18 in the period — and on one shift by the fourth line kept Ovechkin playing defense in the Caps zone his entire shift.
The Canes had 13 shots to the Caps five, and two of the Washington shots came on its first-period power play as Andersen had a mostly stress-free period. Carolina killed off its only penalty of the period: a high-sticking call against Aho.
Ovechkin did get off his patented one-timer from the left circle during the power play, only to hit Tom Wilson in the slot and never get to Andersen.
Carolina also had a first-period power play but generated little out of it. The Canes also had 14 shots blocked in the period, four by Duhaime.
Canes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere hit the post with an attempt — the closest either team came to scoring in the first.
Both teams had nearly a week off before the start of the series, so there was no lack of energy.
There were a few hard checks in the opening period — Jordan Staal had a big hit on Caps rookie Ryan Leonard — but only one minor dustup when Wilson and Svechnikov had a few words and shoves along the boards.
This story was originally published May 6, 2025 at 10:16 PM.
