3 keys to the Hurricane defeat the capital in Round 2 – Hockey Writer – Carolina Hurricane

The Carolina Hurricanes faced the Washington Capitals for the rest of the second round, but we at least know when the first game was some. Game 1 of the 2nd round will be held Tuesday, May 6 in Washington, D.C., to play between the 2019 playoffs. Apart from that, the only thing worth noting is that the series will be on ESPN in the United States only. The rest of the series will provide more information in the next few days. As for the regular season, the Hurricanes beat the Capital 2-1-1 to lead 14-10. Both wins are at the Hurricane’s home, so they hope to win again on the journey as they hope to reach the Eastern Conference finals. What are the 3 keys to the Hurricanes beat the capital in the second round before the series begins on Tuesday?

Key #1: Continue the Red Hot Special Team

One of the main storylines of the Hurricanes entering the 2025 NHL playoffs is the performance of their special teams. They finished the regular season for the first time with an 84.1% shooting percentage, but ranked 25th (18.6%) in the power play. This is obviously not a problem in the first round showdown with the New Jersey Devils as they dominate the special team division. The Hurricane is the only team that is perfectly 100% in the fine kill (15 out of 15). They even ended up with a net free throw of 106.7% due to Jordan Martinook’s goal in Game 2. This is a defined conclusion that the Hurricane will be hit by a fine when entering the playoffs, but how will the power play be?

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Well, how about getting a 19-19 clarity (31.6%) in the game after five playoffs? It turns out that the Hurricane is the fifth largest force so far, with two seven games left in the first round of the showdown with the Devil. Sebastian Aho led the road for Carolina on just three of six. He won two of two of three powerful goals in Game 5 overtime, the second being a win in the game. The other scorers are Andrei Svechnikov, Seth Jarvis and Logan Stankoven.

If the Hurricanes can score at least two powerful goals in the series, they have a chance to steal a game or two, no matter the length of the second round. It just boils down to insisting on moving the hockey, and players are also moving around. As long as they keep their movement forward without stillness, they can keep their capital on their heels. The capital suffered a 66.7% fine in round 1 (13th time), so the hurricane can take advantage of this when it is in an artificial advantage. Washington, on the other hand, does have the 10th-ranked strong game, with their 23.1% game rate against the Montreal Canadiens. As long as Carolina can do what they do to the devil (not sure if they can get 100% again), but if they limit Alexander Ovichkin, Dylan Strom and others, they are in good shape overall.

If the Hurricanes can continue to have a great start in the second round with the Capitals, they can get ahead of the series before anticipation.

Key #2: Depth score keeps rolling

Of the 19 players skating in the Hurricane in the first round, only three did not raise a single point. However, Jordan Staal, William Carrier and Sean Walker should have at least two in the series. Anyway, all three guys have had an impact in the scoreboard series, which is why head coach Rod Brind’amour preached a ton. If a man works as effectively as he does his job in a scoring piece, that’s just as important. Overall, the depth of the Hurricanes once again demonstrates why they are one of the deepest teams in the playoffs. Aho led the lead with 8 points and 5 assists, and scored two key points in Game 5. Svechnikov’s Game 4 hat-trick helped him reach the top three goals in the playoffs, with five in total. Jarvis is an all-around player who outputs five-pointers for the Hurricanes.

The guys who really stand out are Jackson Blake, Martinook, Jaccob Slavin and Stankoven. He scored a goal and four points in Blake’s first playoff goal, and his first playoff goal scored in Game 5’s comeback championship. He averaged 20:05 ice time for the Hurricanes, hitting 8.2% (s%) in five games. In addition, he even scored a 2 rating in the series. For someone who plays in the NHL season, Blake has been holding his own hockey, playing sensational hockey as a rookie.

Martinook once again threw his points at the Devil. This is not a 2-point and 10-point performance in the 2023 round, but he has some key moments in the first round. He scored a brief goal in Game 2, which put the Lenovo Center in a frenzy. In five games, he finished the first round with goals and three-pointers. Whenever both meet, I hope he has an impact. Slavin had a masterclass goal in Game 4 to get the Hurricane to two goals, which was his defensive rock all the time. If the Hurricanes are getting deep scores from the best defensive defensive players in the NHL, you know they’re locked up. In his first playoff with the Hurricanes, Stankoven scored two goals, two goals in Game 1 and won 4-1 in Game 1. He scored two goals and three points in five games.

Many others have had a huge impact on the Hurricanes in the first round, and if depth scores goals up and down the lineup, it can be overwhelmed. Brind’Amour’s Hurricanes can roll four rows and three pairs of defensive pairs. In addition, their relentless prediagnosis, powerful backchecks and transitional games may lower the team, which may be difficult for the capital to overcome. Especially in Raleigh, cans are the loudest house in the NHL for some reason.

Key 3: Frederik Andersen keeps brick walls

Despite missing the rest of Game 4 and 5, Frederik Andersen is essentially the Danish brick wall of the Hurricane. He finished the first round with a record of 3-1, while Pyotr Kochetkov got his fourth victory in Andersen after entering. Andersen also scored 1.59 goals average (GAA) and .936 percentage of profit margin (SV%). “The Great Dane” has achieved its best in its third playoff game with the Hurricanes since the 2023 playoff record was 5-3, 1.83 GAA and 0.927 SV%. Can he keep these numbers? Yes, there is a great chance to keep this if Andersen is ready to play 100% in the first game in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday

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After practicing with the team on Friday, May 2, Anderson told the press: “Today is a great step. I’m so happy to be back there with the guys. I feel good.” He continued to talk about having to leave Game 4 earlier and missing Game 5, “You never want to leave the game in the middle of the playoff series. Obviously, we were able to end the win, and I’m happy about it, but it’s awful.

It shows how many gamers Andersen have, despite winning the series, he wants to get into the network to help the team. When the team practiced on Saturday, May 3, Andersen was in the “starter’s cream” for the Hurricanes, so there is a chance he could be the starter in Game 1. If that is the way to go, expect Andersen to continue where he left off in Round 1. The Hurricanes with Andersen in the net could be an X-factor for the series against the Capitals because he could steal a game or It will be an interesting series between the two, and as long as Anderson has been an unstoppable force in the Hurricane’s network, the series will end before Game 7.

Round 2, Game 1 Tuesday

As we wait for the rest of the second round schedule for the Hurricane and Capital series, at least we know the first game will be held on May 6 at the Capital One Arena in Washington. Additionally, the series will be aired only on ESPN in the United States. The time has not been announced yet, but it should be announced soon after two Western Conference Game 7 over the weekend. Either way, brings round 2 playoff hockey to the Hurricanes.