With the regular season having concluded, hockey fans the world over are glued to the feeds of their favourite teams to follow the scores and all the storylines that come with the postseason. Here at Last Word on Hockey, we are no different in this excitement. With each series of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, our team will be reviewing and previewing the games we all want the saucy details on. So, grab your M&M\u2019s and popcorn buckets and buckle up, folks. We are in for one wild ride as we dive into analysis on this Round Two playoff matchup.<\/p>\n
From the Southeast Division to the Metropolitan Division, the Carolina Hurricanes<\/a> and Washington Capitals<\/a> have played in the same grouping since the 1998-99 season. Strangely, there has never been all that much of a rivalry between these two teams. This will only be the second time that Carolina and Washington have even faced each other in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This is including the days of the Hartford Whalers)<\/a>. Despite this oddity, the series is sure to include some grit and action all the same as they try to claw their way to the Eastern Conference Finals.<\/p>\n The early games between the Hurricanes and Capitals were rather standard, but not to be overlooked. The first meeting came in early November, with Carolina taking the win 4-2. Former Capital, Dmitry Orlov<\/a>, tallied two goals, alongside a goal apiece by Martin Ne\u010das<\/a>\u00a0and Andrei Svechnikov<\/a>. Meanwhile, Alex Ovechkin<\/a> and Brandon Duhaime<\/a> scored Washington\u2019s two.<\/p>\n In their next game, just five days before Christmas, the Capitals were the winners. Blocking 27 shots, they held Carolina to just 25 shots on goal, protecting their netminder, Charlie Lindgren<\/a>, who was battling illness. Gutting it out, Lindgren allowed only one goal within the final ten minutes, stopping try after try, including a ridiculous windmill save<\/a> on Tyson Jost<\/a>. The lone goal for Carolina belonged to Seth Jarvis<\/a>, while Washington\u2019s three were for Aliaksei Protas<\/a>, Jakub Vrana<\/a>, and Connor McMichael<\/a>.<\/p>\n April 2nd\u2019s game was, well, nothing short of entertaining. The Capitals had already clinched their spot in the playoffs, and the Hurricanes were aiming to do it by the end of the night. Carolina was on a heater, having won 11 of their 13 previous games, and the Washington Capitals had just played the Boston Bruins<\/a> the night before. Within the first 20 minutes, Logan Thompson<\/a> conceded three goals on 12 shots. Soon after, he took a shot from Sean Walker<\/a>\u2019s tape to his mask, leaving the game between the first and second periods due to an upper-body injury. He remained out of the lineup for quite some time in the following games.<\/p>\n The game ended 5-1 in Carolina\u2019s favour, but that wasn\u2019t the biggest headline of the match. Numerous fights<\/a> sparked between the Hurricanes and Capitals. By the end of the night, the teams had accumulated 142 penalties in minutes, with the final seven minutes (and two seconds) taking 114 of them. The edge of the PIMs went to Washington, with 74, while Carolina assessed 68. Multiple fights took place, with eight game misconducts between the teams. The biggest moment of them all came when McMichael wanted to tango with Jalen Chatfield<\/a>, who swiftly took him down in a judo-esque fashion. The sequence by Chatfield led to much scrutiny amongst the media and animosity from the Capitals.<\/p>\n The Carolina Hurricanes-Washington Capitals benches in the aftermath of whatever just happened#RaiseUp<\/a> #ALLCAPS<\/a> #NHL<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/E2f7hi6YrE<\/a><\/p>\n — Queen of the Puck (@rbarkleyhockey) April 3, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nCarolina Hurricanes VS Washington Capitals 2024-25 Recap<\/h2>\n
The Calm Before the Storm<\/h3>\n
Pure Violence, Oh the Humanity<\/h3>\n
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