Hurricanes-Capitals Series Preview.

 1M Washington vs Carolina 2M

We are back with another Playoff preview here on the ETEH Blog, so today we are looking at the 2nd of 2 2nd round Series that was locked in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, as we're going to be looking at the East winners in the regular season in the Washington Capitals who quite easily won the East and then made short work of the Montreal Canadiens in round 1 as they dispatched them in 5 games and they take on the second best team in the Metro in the Carolina Hurricanes who limped into the playoffs and didn’t even crack 100 points but easily slipped past a very injured Devils team as they took them down in 5 games and beat them in double OT in game 5.

History of Rivalry Between teams in playoffs:

Now when it comes to the history between the Canes and Capitals in the playoffs there is not much here as these two have only played 1 time in their histories in the postseason and that was back in 2019 as Washington coming off their first ever Cup win went into round 1 against the Canes back in 2019 and they played quite well but it went the distance and into double OT where in the 2nd OT Justin Williams won the game and series for Carolina as the Canes took down the Caps back in 2019 in round 1 en route to a Conference Final appearance, so the Caps will be looking to advance to the Conference Final this time and level the all time series, while Carolina will look for another playoff series win against the Caps.

Season Series Record: 

Washington 2-2-0 11-14-3

Carolina 2-1-1 14-11+3

James Guillory Imagn Images

Each teams X-Factors: Stankoven vs Wilson

Now when it comes to the X-Factors for both teams in this series I would have to say for the Canes it is solid young player Logan Stankoven and for the Capitals it has to be Tom Wilson, now for the Cames we know how massive depth scoring is for them as they rely a lot of depth scoring and Stankoven was a big part of that in round 1 as he was in and around the net and made himself known and also put a few pucks in the back of the Devils net in round 1, so if he can replicate that sort of performance and give the Canes some much needed depth scoring then I like their chances, meanwhile when it comes to Wilson he may have turned the tide of the first round series with his physical play but also had a few big moments offensively including a few big time goals and if he can continue to bring that against the Canes and help both offensively and on the physical side I like the Caps chances of winning.

Which teams are best at 3 Positions:

Offense: now when you look at the two teams offensive units they actually stack up quite well against each other as they both have solid top end talent although not the best in the league and both have some pretty solid depth up front, but if I have to give a edge here I would probably give it to the Canes as I feel their depth is a slight bit better then the Caps is, so in my opinion I am giving the upper hand up front to the Canes.

Defence: now on the blueline both teams have really stellar bluelines as both have solid top end talent like Slavin, Orlov and Gostisbehere in Carolina and Sandin, Carlson and Chychrun in Washington and both teams also have pretty good D depth but I think it is quite clear that top to bottom the Canes blueline is a bit better and a bit deeper so in my opinion I am giving the Canes the blueline advantage. 

Steve Roberts Imagn Images

Goaltending: now in net both of these teams have pretty good goalies as the, Caps have Thompson and the Canes have Andersen and both were pretty good goalies this year but I would say in the regular season and maybe even in the playoffs Thompson was the better goalie, so in this series I will give Thompson and the Capitals the edge in the net.

Biggest on Ice Matchup: Canes depth vs Caps depth scoring

Now in my eyes the biggest on ice matchup between the Caps and Canes in my opinion is the depth scoring on both sides, now both teams have really solid bottom sixes and both teams really do rely on some depth scoring a lot and both did in the postseason so far too, as for Carolina guys like Martinook, Carrier and Stankoven have been really good depth producers for the Canes in the playoffs while in Washington guys like Mangiapane, Duhaime and Protas have been able to fill in pretty well and put up some solid numbers in the playoffs, so in my opinion the team who has the better depth scoring will probably win this series as I feel if the Canes depth can outscore Washington’s then they have a likely chance of winning but if the Caps depth does better then this may be a short series where Washington wins, so we will have to watch but I feel the biggest matchup has to be the two teams depth scoring. 

Predictions:

Now when it comes to who I am picking to win this second round series, I feel the battle between the two top Metro teams will be tight and both teams won twice in their regular season battles, but in my opinion with the way these teams are constructed and their recent playoff success, I am taking the Hurricanes to win this series in 6 games, I do feel that the Canes are a much better situated team at this point as they have had a ton of recent playoff success and Washington just won their first series in 7 years but on top of that, I feel the Canes top end talent is a bit better, their depth on both the forward group and on the blueline is a bit better and even though I think Andersen is the worse of the two goalies, I do think he can do enough to help the Canes win this series, so it will be a longer series in my eyes and I could see the Caps win, but at this point I am taking the Canes in 6.