Recap: Canes Stay Hot At Home With Game 4 Win

RALEIGH, N.C. - Twelve different Carolina skaters recorded a point as the Hurricanes thumped the Washington Capitals 5-2 in Game 4 of their second-round playoff series, taking a 3-1 advantage in their best-of-seven battle and remaining perfect at Lenovo Center this postseason.

GAME SUMMARY | BOX SCORE | PLAYOFF TICKETS | PLAYOFF HUB

For the first time this series, a goal was scored in the opening 20 minutes as Shayne Gostisbehere got the Canes on the board with a seeing-eye shot at 10:24. A pair of penalties - including a double-minor that sandwiched the first intermission - soon threatened Carolina's lead, but 41 seconds after the Canes completed their four-minute kill, Seth Jarvis made it a two-goal game, stashing a Sebastian Aho rebound at the side of the net 1:05 into the middle frame.

The Canes carried that 2-0 lead into what became a back-and-forth third period.

When the Hurricanes conceded their first goal in six periods of play at the 5:18 mark, they struck back three minutes later on a Taylor Hall breakaway beauty to restore the multi-goal advantage. And when Washington clawed back again, this time via an Alex Ovechkin 5-on-3 power-play blast, the Canes again had a response as Sean Walker lit the lamp late, netting his first of the postseason.

Having held off the Caps' charge, Andrei Svechnikov put the icing on the Canes' cake with an empty-netter in the final moments of play.

Frederik Andersen was stellar again, turning aside 19 of 21 shots for his sixth win in eight starts this postseason.

Stats & Standouts

• Shayne Gostisbehere scored his third goal of these playoffs, tied for the third-most by a Hurricanes/Whalers defenseman in a single postseason. He trails Sean Hill (4 in 2002) and Frantisek Kaberle (4 in 2006).
• Seth Jarvis scored and recorded his 49th career playoff point, tying Sebastian Aho's franchise benchmark for most postseason points by a player at age 23 or younger.
• Sebastian Aho picked up an assist on Jarvis' goal, becoming the first player in franchise postseason history to record 50 helpers, as well as the first to reach 80 points. He's the fifth Finnish player in Stanley Cup Playoffs history to reach 50 assists, and the sixth to net 80 points.
• With that assist, Aho became the seventh player in NHL history to record 10 points in seven straight postseasons, joining Peter Forsberg, Wayne Gretzky, Bernie Geoffrion, Brad Marchand, Mark Messier and Mikko Rantanen.
• Frederik Andersen held the Caps scoreless for more than 45 minutes on Monday, stretching his career-best shutout streak to 123:24. That's the fifth-longest shutout streak in franchise playoff history - the all-time mark sits at 143:55, set by Kevin Weekes in 2001-02.
• Taylor Hall posted his second multi-point performance (1G, 1A) of the playoffs, including the game-winner. Now with six points in nine games thus far, Hall is two points shy of matching his career-high in points in a single postseason, set in 2022-23 with Boston.
• Sean Walker recorded his first two career playoff points (1G, 1A) in his 22nd career postseason outing on Monday.
• The Hurricanes have now won five straight games at home, two games shy of their franchise record of seven, set in 2022. The team's current streak is the third in franchise history of at least five games.

They Said It...

Rod Brind'Amour on the experience of his players showing up this postseason...

“There’s no panic when things don’t go our way. Tonight, they’re closing the gap, we just keep playing...Our older guys have been through this, or even our not so old guys have been through it for a few years, so there’s a little bit of maturity there.”

Sean Walker on his club's ability to answer Washington's goals in the third period...

“I think that’s something that’s really important, especially this time of year. You’ve got to answer when teams are making their push, obviously you don’t want to give up those goals, especially late in the third, but as a whole, we kind of kept our composure. We didn’t really panic and just stuck to our systems. Hallsy made a great play on his goal, and I’m happy that I got mine too. It worked out well.”

Dmitry Orlov on the team's defensive play in the series...

“It’s what we try to do. It’s playoff hockey. You just try to leave everything out there and sacrifice for your teammates. It’s how you win. Sometimes you have a sh*t game, but you put your faith in try to stop the puck and make a big hit, or take a hit to make a play and all of the small things make a big difference in the playoffs. It’s what you try to do and we need to keep doing that.”

Seth Jarvis on Taylor Hall's showing in Game 4...

“He won the Hart [Trophy] for a reason, he was an elite player and still is. You love to see a guy like that get rewarded, and to come up in a situation like this, when it really matters, was awesome to see.”

Taylor Hall on being able to contribute in the playoffs...

“It’s what you kind of train for and look forward to when you’re in the summer and when you’re in the dog days. Certainly when I was in Chicago at the bottom of the league, bottom of the standings. I kind of knew I was going to get traded here, and I didn’t know what to expect from the group or from the fans. Obviously I think that I felt really comfortable here. It’s an amazing group of guys and it’s been a lot of fun to get to this point and know that we have a lot more left.”

Rod Brind'Amour on Sean Walker's performances in the playoffs...

“Walks has just been solid. I think his game has gone up another level, so he’s earned that ice time and the trust from the group. Clearly, that goal tonight is an indicator of what he’s capable of. I know his numbers maybe weren’t great this year that way, but you watched him all year. He had a lot of good opportunities and he’s capable of doing that.”

Seth Jarvis on if the Canes feel like they are breaking the will of the Capitals...

“No. There’s still another game, it’s still - the hardest game to win is the one to close it out. We know their experience, they’ve been through a lot of playoff runs, so we’re expecting their best next game. But [winning Game 4 is] a good step in the right direction.”

What's Next?

• The Canes are next scheduled to practice on Wednesday before traveling to Washington ahead of Game 5 on Thursday.
• Next Game: Thursday, May 15 | Round 2, Game 5 at Washington | 7:00 p.m. ET
• Next Home Game (if necessary): Saturday, May 17 | Round 2, Game 6 vs. Washington | Time TBD | Tickets | Parking