Hurricanes win Game 1 in overtime with Jaccob Slavin heroics

Slavin is one of the premier defensemen in the league, but he does not score much. In 76 career playoff games, he had only eight goals, and none of them had come in overtime. He joins the list of overtime heroes in Hurricanes history and brings them three wins away from beating the Capitals.

Slavin has been a key member of the Hurricanes since his first season in the NHL in 2015 at 21 years old. Since then, he has solidified himself as one of the best defenders in the league. Even though he only has 55 regular-season goals, he is about to start a contract extension that keeps him in Carolina through 2033.

Slavin is a representative goal scorer for the Hurricanes and the way they want to play. They preach defense, playing a clean game in their end and just scoring enough to squeak out wins. That was exactly their playbook on Tuesday night, controlling Washington in the defensive end and peppering Logan Thompson with chances.

The Hurricanes got their first goal from Logan Stankoven, who came to the team at the NHL trade deadline. He was part of the return for Mikko Rantanen when they could not get a contract extension done with him. If Stankoven becomes a star, they may be grateful for all of the drama that came with their failed Rantanen experiment.

The Hurricanes and Capitals continue their series on Thursday night.