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Seth Jarvis celebrates a goal for the Carolina Hurricanes (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

3 Takeaways From Hurricanes’ Game 4 5-2 Win Over Capitals

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Zach Martin | Last updated May 13, 2025 8:35 AM ET

The Carolina Hurricanes now have a 3-1 stranglehold on the series after winning 5-2 in Game 4 on Monday night (May 12) against the Washington Capitals. They look to finish the series in five games, like they did in Round 1 against the New Jersey Devils. Up and down the roster, everyone was getting in on the action during Game 4’s win. Before we set our sights on Game 5 on Thursday, May 15, what three things stood out in the victory for the Hurricanes?

Takeaway #1: The Sean Walker Game

What a night for Sean Walker in Game 4 for the Hurricanes. According to Hockey Stat Cards, Walker, analytically, was one of two players to have a perfect game, advanced-stat-wise. The other player? Jaccob Slavin. Walker in Game 4 scored his first-ever playoff goal of his career as he made it a 4-2 game to give the Hurricanes an insurance marker. It was a poetic goal for Walker, who has been an under-the-radar player for Carolina this season, especially in the playoffs. He made a ton of key plays in Games 3 and 4 at home at the Lenovo Center, and it’s not gone unnoticed. Following the Game 3 win on May 10, head coach Rod Brind’Amour stated about Walker, “I’m glad you mentioned Walks. I think he’s been under the radar, really, all year. Whatever we ask him to do, he kind of fills in or takes charge every night. He took the lead back there. He was really solid.”

To get that type of praise from Brind’Amour after Game 3 and score your first-career playoff goal in the next game is absolute cinema if you’re Walker. After Game 4, Brind’Amour gave more praise to him, “Walks has just been solid. His game has gone up another level, so he’s earned that time and trust from the group”. What a few days it’s been for Walker, who’s gaining the trust of the head coach, especially in a crucial time in the playoffs as the Hurricanes are now up 3-1 in the series. What makes this run of days better, Walker still has four more years left in his five-year, $3.6 million average annual value deal to stay in Raleigh through the 2028-29 season. What a steal for the Hurricanes.

Takeaway #2: Bend But Don’t Break

The game got tense during the five-goal third period when the Capitals brought it to within one goal twice. What helped the Hurricanes survive that situation, and once again at the start of the game, was Frederik Andersen putting in another fantastic performance. Andersen stopped 19 of 21 shots in the win to give him a 6-2 record in the playoffs. He now has a 1.41 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage. That is only the second time he’s given up two goals in a game in his eight starts. He has been the most consistent player for the Hurricanes during the playoffs, as he’s been dialed in from the word go.

What helped was the guys playing in front of “The Great Dane,” as well as the penalty kill, which went 4-for-5 on the night. The penalty kill for the Hurricanes is now 25-for-27 in the playoffs (92.6%). It only took until a Capitals’ two-man advantage to get their second power-play goal of the series. Outside of that, the “power kill” for the Hurricanes was locked in once again.

There is no doubt that the Hurricanes’ special teams are on another level, and having to kill that many penalties to finish with a win is huge, especially in the playoffs. Even with the power play going 0-for-3 in the game, that did not matter when you score five goals to take a 3-1 stranglehold on the series with a huge Game 5 coming up in a few days. Andersen and the Hurricanes held the Capitals to only 21 shots and two goals, while having five goals on 37 shots showed how dominant they were for most of the game. If the Hurricanes can replicate what they did in Games 3 and 4 and take it to Game 5 in Washington, D.C., we could see this series finishing sooner than what people thought it would.

Takeaway #3: Full Team Effort

The Hurricanes’ depth has been one of the key reasons why the team just keeps on winning. They have now won seven games in the 2025 Playoffs. That’s one more than they accomplished in 2024, and people thought this was a “step back” season for the Hurricanes. Their buy-in has been evident since the start of the season, and it was stated as such by Jack Roslovic after their Game 3 win. He stated, “From the day that I got here, I realized the buy-in, and it sounds cliche, but the camaraderie and the way we’re coached and the way we all buy into one system. It’s something that we’ve found to be our crutch.” In Game 4, the buy-in was more apparent as Shayne Gostisbehere, Seth Jarvis, Taylor Hall, and Andrei Svechnikov all got goals along with Walker en route to the 5-2 victory.

It takes a village to win games, and that is what the Hurricanes have done so far these playoffs, as they are one win away from the Eastern Conference Final. Out of the 19 skaters who’ve dressed, only one has not put up a point (William Carrier). If that does not show how deep the Hurricanes’ roster is, then people are missing the boat on how special this team is and how they just play for each other. This is the healthiest team in the Brind’Amour era, and it’s showing how important that is for the playoffs. As long as they stay healthy and keep buying into the system, there is no slowing this team down. Now with them fully in the driver’s seat, can we see them close out another series in five games on Thursday?

Game 5 on Thursday

The Hurricanes take a 3-1 series lead into Game 5 on Thursday night (May 15) back in Washington, D.C., as they look to finish the series earlier than people expected. They will have a couple of days between games to rest up, but all the momentum is on their side, while the Capitals have all the pressure on them to not lose at home and be eliminated. The start of Game 5 is set for a 7 p.m. Eastern puck drop. The game will be aired on TNT, truTV, and MAX. Hurricanes fans can listen to the game on 99.9 The Fan.