(1)Washington Capitals vs (WC1) Carolina Hurricanes
This could be one of the more underrated matchups as it puts the defending Stanley Cup champions up against one of the trendiest teams of the season. For most of the season Washington looked as if they were playing with a Stanley Cup hangover but were able to get back on track after the trade deadline. Carolina hit a rough patch at the start of the season but came together as a team in the second half and fought their way to a playoff berth for the first time since 2009. These are two evenly matched teams that could end having a memorable series.
Forwards:
Carolina has a very top heavy forward group and seem to go as Sebastian Aho goes. Aho logs large amounts of ice time and led the team with 83 points. When he’s scoring the Hurricanes are doing well but if he’s having trouble finding the back of the net the rest of the lineup seems to struggle. He will most certainly be facing Washington’s top defensive players so if the Hurricanes want to win this series they will need some other players to step up.
One player that could break out is “Mr Game 7” Justin Williams. Williams is a three time Stanley Cup champion and knows how to score in the clutch, look for him to lead by example in the postseason. Some other players with postseason experience are Teuvo Teravainen, who’s knack for finding the open man lead him to a career high in points, and center Jordan Staal who is a defensive specialist that will likely face Washington’s top line. Depth scoring may be an issue but Michael Ferland and Jordan Martinook play styles of play reminiscent to playoff heroes Bryan Bickell and Andrew Shaw, if they can step up that may be the depth Carolina needs.
Any team with Alexander Ovechkin, the best goal scorer of the generation, is certain to have an advantage in forward depth, but Washington has managed to surround Ovechkin with plenty of talent. Nicklas Backstrom is one of the more underrated centers in the league and can dominate a series possession wise. Evgeny Kuznetsov showed last season that he can score in the clutch. Washington also has a collection of depth players that are proven playoff performers with Tom Wilson, Lars Eller, Jakub Vrana, and Brett Connolly.
Advantage: Washington
The Capitals forwards have valuable playoff experience and are much deeper outside of the top six than Carolina.
Defense:
The Hurricanes might have the best blueline that nobody is talking about. Their top pairing of Dougie Hamilton and Jacob Slavin is a dynamic possession driving unit that not only does a great job keeping the puck away from opponents but can find the back of the net as well. The top pairing has taken pressure off of Justin Faulk who struggles in the defensive zone. With a reduced role Faulk has been able to contribute more in the offensive zone. Brett Pesce and Calvin de Haan have been able to form a shutdown combination that flips the ice when they start shifts in the defensive zone which helps all the offensive minded dmen the Hurricanes have. This pains me to say but Trevor Van Riemsdyk has looked solid on the third pairing in Carolina.
For Washington, defense might be their achilles heel in this series. John Carlson registered a career high 70 points but losing his partner Michal Kempny to injury may hamper his production in the postseason. When paired with Kempny, Carlson was able to roam free in the offensive zone while Kempny hung back and acted as a free safety. Now Carlson will have to be more defensively responsible. The addition of Nick Jensen was supposed to put the Capitals in a good situation even without Kempny but he has put up mediocre numbers and hasn’t been much of an upgrade over what they already had. Dmitry Orlov has seen his CF% decrease while also starting more shifts in the defensive zone, his revolving door of partners haven’t been much help to him but if he can find a defensively sound partner he can be a solid puck moving defenseman. Brooks Orpik seems to have lost a step from where he once was and may be looked to for even more minutes which won’t exactly help matters.
Advantage: Carolina
The Hurricanes defense is solid from 1-6 and they are also healthier than Washington’s. With playmakers like Hamilton and Faulk the defenseman can make up for some of the scoring Carolina’s forward group lacks.
Goaltenders:
Carolina has made it this far by having career years from two under the radar goalies. Curtis McElhinney and Petr Mrazek have combined to form a reliable tandem in net for the Hurricanes. Mrazek has been given the nod to start the series but if things don’t go as planned they can always make a switch.
Washington has one of the league’s best goaltenders between the posts in Braden Holtby. While he struggled in previous playoff series, he showed last season he can stay consistent when the going gets tough.
Advantage: Washington
Just like with quarterbacks if you have two goalies you have none. Washington also has the luxury of experience on their side.
My Prediction: Hurricanes in 7
Carolina hasn’t seen the postseason in 10 years and is coming into the postseason hot while Washington has looked snake bitten at times this season. Sometimes the underdog mentality works more than having been there before
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