Takeaways: Sharp-angle goals end Ovechkin, Capitals’ season early
It was Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal who opened the scoring for Carolina, and the Canes once again got exceptional goaltending from Frederik Andersen. Anthony Beauvillier had Washington’s only goal.
Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals were eliminated from the playoffs on Thursday night, and the Carolina Hurricanes have advanced to the Eastern Conference Final.
This do-or-die game for the Capitals was all tied up until Andrei Svechnikov potted the winner with just 1:59 to go for his eighth goal of the post-season. Seth Jarvis added the empty-netter to give the Hurricanes the 3-1 win in front of a crowd at Capital One Arena in Washington that grew very quiet just before the final buzzer.
When it was over, Ovechkin looked around the arena and shook his head. It’s a disappointing finish to what has been an incredible season for the Capitals captain. Ovechkin set the NHL’s all-time goals record and helped lead his team to the best record in the East in the regular season, only to see their run end in the second round of the playoffs with a 4-1 series loss.
It was Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal who opened the scoring for Carolina, and the Canes once again got exceptional goaltending from Frederik Andersen. Anthony Beauvillier had Washington’s only goal.
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Washington played with urgency and dished out hits and had a good number of scoring chances, but yet again they couldn’t solve Andersen — the Capitals scored just three times in the last three games. The Hurricanes goalie leads all netminders in the post-season in goals-against average and save percentage and has allowed just 11 goals in the playoffs.
After dispatching Washington in just five games, Carolina advances to its second Eastern Conference Final in three seasons. They’ll await the winner of the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Let’s take a look at how the Canes eliminated the Capitals, an effort that includes a major assist from an offside.
Captain forces momentum shift
The Capitals came out firing — they had a quicker pace compared to a game ago, were out-hitting Carolina 10-0 in the early goings, and had back-to-back scoring chances mid-way through the first. They did everything but score.
But at the 9:38 mark in the first period, Staal opened the scoring and changed the tide. The captain was below the faceoff dot on the right side when he beat Logan Thompson, glove side, on a sharp angle for his first goal.
It was Staal’s first playoff goal this season, and the 47th of his career. It was also the first of two bad-angle goals that Thompson would give up.
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Capitals shakeups pay off, slightly
In this win-or-go-home Game 5, Capitals coach Spencer Carbery made some changes to his forward lines — they’d combined for just two even-strength goals in the series through four games. Beauvillier was moved from the fourth line to the top trio alongside Ovechkin and Dylan Strome. The new line generated some early chances and had some good zone time before their newest addition struck on an individual effort to tie things up.
Just four minutes after Staal gave Carolina the lead, Beauvillier pressured Canes defender Jaccob Slavin and jumped on a bouncing puck at the side of the net that kept bouncing in front of Andersen until Beauvillier deposited it between the goaltender’s legs.
The crowd was amped back up, and this game was all tied up. The Capitals answered back quickly, and carried that momentum into the second period.
Tough call for Caps
Washington was rewarded for a great start in the second when Matt Roy one-timed a knuckler that went off Andersen’s glove and in. The goal came after an extended period in Carolina’s zone, and just two minutes into the second frame.
Canes coach Rob Brind’Amour immediately called a timeout and challenged the play for offside. It was a no-doubter — Connor McMichael entered the zone before Jakob Chychrun carried the puck over the blueline, and back came the goal. The game was all tied up again.
The Capitals did manage to beat Andersen twice on Thursday, but only one counted.
Ovi’s season finale
The Capitals captain managed just one goal in this series, but the 39-year-old didn’t go out without a fight.
Ovechkin led all Capitals forwards in Game 5 with three shots on net, including one from his office on the power play. His best chance came in the third off the rush, when he fired one on Andersen and then jumped on the rebound, tripping over the Canes goalie and falling to the ice as Andersen managed to cover the puck up.
After the buzzer went, Ovechkin let out a big sigh on the ice.
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Thompson left shaking his head, Svechnikov strikes again
The Capitals netminder made some big saves to keep his team in this one, his biggest coming at the end of the first when he got his paddle on the puck to stop rookie Logan Stankoven from potting a go-ahead goal into the near-empty net.
But Thompson could only shake his head after Svechnikov scored the game-winner. It came off the rush, and Svechnikov dished the puck to Sean Walker on the point, and Walker dished it right back. Svechnikov was below the faceoff dot and almost up against the boards when he beat Thompson with a shot from that nearly impossible angle.
Svechnikov has scored in each of the last four games for the Hurricanes, and is behind only Stars forward Mikko Rantanen in playoff goals.
Thompson finished the game on the bench as the Capitals sent out an extra attacker, and the goaltender was shaking his head, too.
