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May 15, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Carolina Hurricanes players celebrate after their series clinching win against the Washington Capitals in game five of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Hurricanes Win Round 2 Series 4-1, After 3-1 Game 5 Victory Over Capitals

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Zach Martin | Last updated May 15, 2025 11:10 PM ET

The Carolina Hurricanes are moving on to the Eastern Conference Final after their 3-1 Game 5 win over the Washington Capitals. After winning Round 1 in five games, the Hurricanes repeated that effort with another Game 5 win in Round 2 to take the series 4-1 in Washington, D.C. Carolina is heading to the third round for the third time since 2019. I guess it’s safe to say boring hockey wins games – and series – with how the Hurricanes are rolling right now.

Game Recap

Just like Game 4, the Hurricanes got the lead in the first period thanks to a Jordan Staal goal. It was an unreal snipe by the Hurricanes’ captain as he just barely got it in the upper-90 of the post/crossbar on the far side. There was no way Logan Thompson could save that. It was Staal’s first goal of the playoffs, and it was a huge one. The first period saw lots of back and forth from both teams, more so the Hurricanes as the period wound down. Carolina’s lead only lasted for about four minutes, however, as Anthony Beauvillier was able to stick lift Jaccob Slavin to mess up his pass around the boards. He was able to pick up the puck and slide it between the legs of Frederik Andersen to tie the game 1-1.

Logan Stankoven, with under a minute left in the first period, almost scored on the empty net as the puck got by Thompson. Unfortunately for the Hurricanes, somehow Thompson was able to reach back to barely get his stick on the puck to make it go wide. The period ended tied 1-1 with the Hurricanes outshooting the Capitals 7-4.

The second period saw some close chances for both sides. Matt Roy of the Capitals scored the second goal for the home team. However, it was called back due to Connor McMichael being offside. Seth Jarvis almost gave the Hurricanes a one-goal lead with three seconds left in the period, but the puck went off the crossbar and stayed out. For the second time with seconds left in a period, the Hurricanes were turned away from a go-ahead goal by mere inches.

The third period saw a tense exchange of chances for both sides as the Capitals and the Hurricanes were looking for the next goal to potentially win the game. As the game progressed, it seemed like neither side would be able to capitalize on their chances. However, with 1:59 left in the second period, Andrei Svechnikov was able to find enough room to get a shot off and past Thompson. His team-leading eighth goal of the playoffs made it 2-1 for the Hurricanes. While the goal was huge, there was still too much time to celebrate. Thankfully for the Hurricanes, Jarvis was able to ice the game with an empty net goal.

The Hurricanes won Game 5 3-1, and are now onto the Eastern Conference Final for the third time in the Rod Brind’Amour era.

Now We Wait

While the Hurricanes punched their ticket to the Eastern Conference Final, they still have to wait for their opponent. They will face the winner of the Florida Panthers and the Toronto Maple Leafs, as that series is going to Game 6 on Friday night (May 16). Either way, the Hurricanes have been rolling as of late, and they will have some rest before their playoff journey continues.