The Washington Capitals begin their quest towards their second Stanley Cup against the Carolina Hurricanes. Here is our series preview.
The Washington Capitals and Hurricanes first round playoff series begins on Thursday night at Capital One Arena. These two longtime divisional foes had never met in the postseason before but that all has changed in 2019. The Capitals and Hurricanes were rivals in both the Southeast Division and currently in the Metropolitan Division. We actually got a preview as recently as two weeks ago in a home-and-home series. Washington won both games.
They met a total of four times in the regular season. The Capitals won each game. The teams met twice in December and then late March in the home-and-home. The first meeting in Carolina on Dec. 14 saw the Capitals rally from a 4-1 deficit to win in the shootout 6-5. In that game, Alex Ovechkin recorded a hat trick for the second straight game.
The second game took place on Dec. 27 at Capital One Arena where the Capitals prevailed 3-1. Recently, the Capitals swept the back-to-back home-and-home with 4-1 and 3-2 wins in Washington and Raleigh, respectively. The most recent win came on a game-winning goal from Nic Dowd to punch the Capitals’ ticket to the playoffs. Although the Capitals swept each game, none of that matters anymore. It’s a clean slate beginning on Thursday night. The series is 0-0.
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The Hurricanes became the darlings of the NHL this season. They finished with a 46-29-7 record with 99 points for first place in the Eastern Conference Wild Card, just a point ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets. They advance to the playoffs for the first time since the 2009 season, where they came up just short of a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. They fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals and hadn’t been back to the big dance since.
The Capitals could’ve either had a rematch of the 2018 first round against the Blue Jackets or even a first round date with Sidney Crosby and the Penguins. However, Carolina got a win over the Flyers in their season finale while the Penguins game with the New York Rangers went to overtime. The Hurricanes ended the season winning six of their final 10 games. Hockey has become a hot ticket in North Carolina again and the town of Raleigh has embraced their team. They got their fans involved with one of the newest and coolest traditions of the season, the storm surge.
The Hurricanes announced via former Capital Justin Williams that the team was finished doing storm surges so it is doubtful we’ll see the iconic postgame celebration in the playoffs. But maybe they’ll bring it out. You never know. The storm surges got mixed reviews among fans and media with famous Canadian hockey commentator Don Cherry calling them, a “bunch of jerks”.
Regardless of the outcome tonight, this will be our last storm surge of the season. It has been an absolute treat celebrating victories with our @NHLCanes fans and muddying up the waters a little bit. We’ve created a buzz again in Carolina but we know ultimately we’ve done that
— Justin Williams (@JustinWilliams) March 28, 2019
The Capitals have won the Metropolitan Division for the fourth year in a row. It’s actually the second time in the ‘Rock the Red’ era that they’ve won the division four years in a row. The first time was from 2007-08 to 2010-11. The Capitals became the third reigning Cup champ to win their division since 2003-04. The defending Stanley Cup champions are looking to become just the fourth team in the last 30 years to repeat.
The Capitals had a roller coaster of a season in their first time having the status of defending champions. There were times of a Stanley Cup hangover. There was also times of triumph. Back in January, the team struggled as they had a seven-game winless streak. A couple of roster moves including the trades for Nick Jensen and Carl Hagelin have helped the Capitals play their best hockey.
The only hole in the Capitals’ lineup will be the absence of Michal Kempny who had season-ending surgery on his torn left leg. However, if last year was any indication with the multiple injuries as well as some kind of a suspension to one player, if the Capitals bring last year’s “next man up” mentality into this spring they’ll be fine. Injuries and adversity happen to every team in their quest to win a Stanley Cup including each champion. Last year’s Capitals was an example of that.
Game 1 begins on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. at Capital One Arena. Stay tuned to Stars and Sticks for playoff coverage all week long leading up to the game.