Capitals seek redemption against Hurricanes in 2nd round

ARLINGTON, Va. -- The Washington Capitals have more time than they expected to prepare for an opponent they already knew very well. They hope to make the most of the break, though, before hosting the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Capital One Arena on Tuesday.

"I always think you can use it to your advantage and make sure that you're well rested and recovered and ready to crank it back up," Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said Saturday. "That's what I think our focus is as a team, utilizing the days off and making sure that we're staying sharp and ready to go for Game 1."

After advancing with a 4-1 victory against the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round on Wednesday, the Capitals focused their preparation to be ready to play Game 1 on Sunday, leaving room for adjustment as needed. When the St. Louis Blues defeated the Winnipeg Jets 5-2 on Friday to force a Game 7 of their Western Conference First Round series on Sunday, that pushed Game 1 between Washington and Carolina to Tuesday.

The Capitals went through a rigorous practice Saturday, as planned, covering all facets of their game including power play, but will take Sunday off before holding their final pre-series practice Monday.

"It's a little different, but I think rest is always good for us," center Dylan Strome said. "I think we've shown throughout the year that when we have a little bit of a lighter schedule, it seems like we're pretty dialed in when we come out of it. So, hopefully, it works the same way and you're just ready to go."

A lot of the Capitals' pre-series work has been a review of a Hurricanes team they faced four times during the regular season, including twice in their final eight games. The first one – a 5-1 loss at Carolina on April 2 – didn't go well. The Capitals' performance in a 5-4 shootout win at home on April 10 provided a better blueprint for their success, particularly the second period, when they outscored the Hurricanes 3-0 and outshot them 16-9.

"We're obviously very familiar with them," right wing Tom Wilson said. "Everyone is familiar with everyone these days. It seems like there's so much video and so much scouting that goes into it all. … It's a rival. It's a divisional opponent. They've been a measuring stick in this division for a long time. Obviously, the Caps franchise has been the same.

"You're going to have two fast, big teams in the East going at it. I think it's going to be high paced, physical, detailed hockey."

The Capitals know that, since Rod Brind'Amour took over as Hurricanes coach in 2018, they tend to generate sustained offensive-zone time with their incessant forecheck, puck possession and shot volume. Carolina, which defeated the New Jersey Devils in five games in the first round, is fourth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a plus-69 shot attempts differential 5-on-5 after leading the NHL at plus-1,341 during the regular season; the Florida Panthers were a distant second at plus-785.

The Hurricanes are first in the League with 45.1 percent of offensive-zone time in the playoffs, according to NHL EDGE Advanced Stats.

So, breaking out of the defensive zone cleanly, surviving the Hurricanes' flurries of shots and making them play more in their end will be among the keys for the Capitals in the series.

"We know what type of game they're going to play and the forecheck they put on us, especially defensemen going back for pucks," defenseman Rasmus Sandin said. "So, just make a read where their guys (are) and make the right plays, advance pucks when we need to and make a play when we need to. I think that's the biggest challenge, and then, obviously, move our feet a lot and make plays quick."

The Capitals did that well in the second period of the game on April 10, when they dictated play with their forecheck and physical play. They will need to find a way to repeat that for longer stretches to have their best chance at success in this series.

"There was lot of good things inside of that (game)," Carbery said. "We're going to need to replicate some of those and then we'll look at some of the stuff that happened in the Jersey series with Carolina and, even for that matter, some of the stuff that we did against Montreal that we're going to need to either, A, continue to tighten up or do a better job of, and, B, continue to replicate against Carolina."

This will be the second playoff series between the Capitals and Hurricanes. The first came in the 2019 Eastern Conference First Round when Carolina ended Washington's bid to repeat as Stanley Cup champions with a 4-3 double-overtime win in Game 7.

The Capitals have only five players left who played in that series: Wilson, fellow forwards Alex Ovechkin, Lars Eller and Nic Dowd, and defenseman John Carlson. The Hurricanes also have five players remaining: forwards Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook, and defenseman Jaccob Slavin.

"It'll be nice to get another crack at them from a few years back," Wilson said. "They compete very hard. You know what you're going to get from them. You're going to get their all – all their work ethic. We're going to have to dictate play and worry about our game and make sure we're really focused and dialed in, because there's not going to be a lot of time and space out there."