The Canes return to Raleigh for Game 3.
As the lower seed, the Carolina Hurricanes‘ task was to get a road victory early in the series to flip the schedule in their favor.
The Canes did so, and with a 1-1 series tie, the Eastern Conference Second Round is now a best-of-five sprint with Carolina holding home ice advantage.
Under head coach Rod Brind’Amour, Carolina is one of the toughest teams to play at home. The Canes tied for the most home victories in the NHL this season and have won all three home postseason games.
Interestingly enough, Washington was one of the best road teams this season. The Capitals had 25 road victories during the regular season, good for the second-best in the league. The Caps split the two road games in Montreal during the first round.
There are three keys to watch during tonight’s game.
A reason why Brind’Amour’s Canes are so tough at home is taking advantage of the last change and adjusting for the right matchups.
During Game Two, Carolina was caught on their heels several times in the neutral zone and in transition. Combined with spending too much time in the defensive zone, the Hurricanes found themselves playing from behind in the second period.
Part of that was matchups, and part was just execution.
Brind’Amour is not shy when shuffling lines, and this is something that might be done tonight. Keep an eye on the right wingers, as Seth Jarvis and William Carrier are most likely to shift during the game.
A second key is offensive zone possession. This was the biggest difference between Games One and Two. During the second period of Game Two, Washington started to sustain offensive pressure.
Even with the improvement in Game Two, the Capitals remain at the bottom of all playoff teams with a Corsi of 40.8 percent. The Hurricanes are the best at 59.7 percent.
Based on regular season figures, the Canes spend about two to three more minutes in the offensive zone at home compared to on the road. If Carolina can get the Game One meat grinder turning again, it could be another long evening for Washington.
And once again, special teams are back in focus.
Carolina gave up its first power play goal of the playoffs during Game Two, ending a streak of 19 straight kills to start the postseason. The Canes’ defenders lost John Carlson, who snuck below the dots for an easy one-timer.
The first two power plays for the Hurricanes in Game Two were not great. Fearing a regression, Shayne Gostisbehere’s power play goal in the third period eased the worry of the Caniacs. It was not a set play, but retaining possession and a willingness to shoot the puck led to an opportune rebound.
For the visiting team, the power play is the great equalizer on the road. Tonight, shutting down the Washington power play is a must. The Canes cannot let the Caps’ man advantage gain confidence and momentum.
Expect Frederik Andersen and Logan Thompson between the pipes tonight.
For Washington, the only expected lineup change is Charlie Lindgren returning as backup goalie.
For Carolina, Mark Jankowski will be a game-time decision. No other lineup changes are expected.
Capitals projected lineup
- Alex Ovechkin — Dylan Strome — Aliaksei Protas
- Connor McMichael — Pierre-Luc Dubois — Tom Wilson
- Andrew Mangiapane — Lars Eller — Taylor Raddysh
- Brandon Duhaime — Nic Dowd — Anthony Beauvillier
- 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)
Hurricanes projected lineup
- Andrei Svechnikov — Sebastian Aho — Jackson Blake
- Taylor Hall — Jesperi Kotkaniemi — Logan Stankoven
- Jordan Martinook — Jordan Staal — Seth Jarvis
- Eric Robinson — Jack Roslovic — William Carrier
- Jaccob Slavin — Brent Burns
- Dmitry Orlov — Jalen Chatfield
- Shayne Gostisbehere — Sean Walker
- Frederik Andersen
- Pyotr Kochetkov
Injured: Mark Jankowski (undisclosed)
Scratched: Tyson Jost, Riley Stillman, Juha Jaaska, Scott Morrow, Ty Smith, Alexander Nikishin, Spencer Martin
For those attending tonight’s game, the parking lots open at 1:00 PM.
The South Plaza Party starts at 3:30 PM, and the doors open at 4:30 PM.
Back in our house pic.twitter.com/BbRH2KUbnZ
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) May 10, 2025
Here’s how to check out the action:
- Time: 6:00 PM ET
- Location: Lenovo Center, Raleigh, NC
- TV: TNT, truTV, Max; SN, TVAS
- Radio: 99.9 The Fan with Mike Maniscalco, play-by-play; Tripp Tracy, color analyst.
- Line: ML: CAR -205; PL: CAR -1.5 +136