WASHINGTON -- The Washington Capitals will try to even the Eastern Conference Second Round when they host the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 2 at Capital One Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS).
Carolina won 2-1 in overtime in Game 1 of the best-of-7 series on Tuesday.
Though the Capitals led 1-0 until forward Logan Stankoven’s tying goal at 9:42 of the third period, that was mostly because of goalie Logan Thompson, who made 31 saves. The Hurricanes controlled play territorially throughout, building lopsided advantages in shots on goal (33-14) and shot attempts (94-34), and were rewarded with the win when defenseman Jaccob Slavin scored 3:06 into overtime.
“I think Game 1 just didn’t feel like our game,” Washington forward Tom Wilson said Thursday. “Even right from the start, even when we were leading, it just didn’t feel like Caps hockey.
"So I think the focus for tonight is on our level of compete, our pace of play. It’s the second round of the playoffs. All the teams that are left are the best teams in the League. They play really good hockey. We need to be at that execution and that compete level as well. It’s the hardest time of year to win.”
Handling Carolina's incessant forecheck better and forcing the Hurricanes to defend more in their end would be a good place to start. That would also help the Capitals generate more chances against goalie Frederik Andersen, who stopped 13 of 14 shots in Game 1.
“When there’s five guys all over you, sometimes the best play is to just put it behind them and get forechecking,” Washington center Pierre-Luc Dubois said. “Then they’ve got to throw it back to you because you’re doing the same thing to them. So sometimes fighting fire with fire is the best way to do it. We’re going to have to be skating more. They’re a really fast team, so you’ve got to skating all the time, you’ve got to be on your toes ready to go.”
Conversely, Carolina doesn't want to change much from how it played in Game 1 other than converting on more scoring chances against Thompson.
Not satisfied after winning the opener, the Hurricanes have a chance to take control of the series before heading home to Lenovo Center for Games 3 and 4 on Saturday and Monday, respectively. Carolina is 3-0 at home in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“I would assume they’re going to regroup,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We both play the same game. We were able to get to it (in Game 1) and I’m sure they’re going to do what they can to get to their game. That’s what we expect. I don’t know that you tweak a bunch of stuff at this time of the year. You’re a good team, you got here doing it a certain way.”
Teams that take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series own an all-time series record of 358-57 (.863), including 5-1 during the 2025 playoffs. Teams that win the first two games of a best-of-7 series on the road are 88-22 (.800) all-time.
Here is a breakdown of Game 2:
Hurricanes: Fourth-line center Mark Jankowski will be a game-time decision after leaving with an undisclosed injury in the second period Tuesday. Jack Roslovic, who had one assist in playing the first three games of the first round against the New Jersey Devils before being a healthy scratch the past three games, would likely take Jankowski’s place if he’s unable to play. Not having last change on the road doesn’t seem to bother Carolina, which played through whatever matchups Washington tried to get in Game 1. In addition to having big advantages in shots on goal and shot attempts, the Hurricanes outhit the Capitals 44-31. It was their third consecutive game outhitting their opponent after they were outhit by the Devils in each of the first three games of the first round. Stankoven leads rookies with three goals in the playoffs.
Capitals: Coach Spencer Carbery would not confirm the change, but it appears forward Taylor Raddysh will enter the lineup in place of rookie Ryan Leonard, who would be a healthy scratch for the first time since signing with Washington on March 31. Leonard remained on the ice after the morning skate to skate with the other extra players and Raddysh, who was scratched the past two games, did not. Expect forward Aliaksei Protas, who scored the Capitals’ lone goal in Game 1, to get occasional shifts on different lines throughout the game, but Carbery sounded as if he intended to keep Protas mainly on the fourth line with Brandon Duhaime and Nic Dowd again. Thompson is 3-1 with a 1.47 goals-against average and .951 save percentage in four home starts in the postseason.
Number to know: Plus-48. The Hurricanes’ 5-on-5 shot-attempts differential in Game 1, which is the largest in a game for any team in the 2025 playoffs. Carolina led 76-28 in shot attempts and 27-10 in shots on goal in 5-on-5 play.
What to look for: Carolina is a high-shot volume team, as evidenced by its League-leading plus-1,341 shot-attempts differential at 5-on-5 in the regular season (the Florida Panthers were second at plus-785), but can Washington find a way to limit their opponent's sustained offensive-zone shifts that lead to repeated shots? Can the Hurricanes continue their Game 1 advantage in physical play?
What they are saying
“You go through a series, momentum shifts and ups and downs, and the best you can do is get out there and get ready and bring on them early on. Get the momentum back and play from there.” -- Hurricanes forward William Carrier
“If you think we’re going to be defeated or let down or feel like Game 1 is indicative of the way the series is going to go the whole way, that’s not the way that we feel inside these walls. We are going to, and I expect our guys, to play a lot better tonight. That’s just the bottom line.” -- Carbery
Hurricanes projected lineup
Andrei Svechnikov -- Sebastian Aho -- Jackson Blake
Taylor Hall -- Jesperi Kotkaniemi -- Logan Stankoven
Jordan Martinook -- Jordan Staal -- Seth Jarvis
Eric Robinson -- Mark Jankowski -- William Carrier
Jaccob Slavin -- Brent Burns
Dmitry Orlov -- Jalen Chatfield
Shayne Gostisbehere -- Sean Walker
Frederik Andersen
Pyotr Kochetkov
Scratched: Jack Roslovic, Tyson Jost, Riley Stillman, Juha Jaaska, Scott Morrow, Ty Smith, Alexander Nikishin, Spencer Martin
Injured: None
Capitals projected lineup
Alex Ovechkin -- Dylan Strome -- Anthony Beauvillier
Connor McMichael -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Tom Wilson
Andrew Mangiapane -- Lars Eller -- Taylor Raddysh
Brandon Duhaime -- Nic Dowd -- Aliaksei Protas
Jakob Chychrun -- John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin -- Matt Roy
Alex Alexeyev -- Trevor van Riemsdyk
Logan Thompson
Charlie Lindgren
Scratched: Ryan Leonard, Ethen Frank, Dylan McIlrath, Ethan Bear, Mitchell Gibson
Injured: Martin Fehervary (lower body), Sonny Milano (upper body)
NHL.com independent correspondent Harvey Valentine contributed to this report
