WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Hurricanes can close out their second round series against the Capitals with a win in Thursday’s Game 5 at Capital One Arena.
A victory would send Carolina to the Eastern Conference final for the second time in three seasons and the third time in seven years since Rod Brind’Amour became coach in 2018. The Hurricanes would then face Florida or Toronto for a berth in the Stanley Cup final. The Panthers lead that series 3-2.
1. The biggest mystery for the Hurricanes entering Game 5 is the status of defenseman Jalen Chatfield. Chatfield appeared to come up lame near the end of Game 4, and he did not practice Wednesday at Invisalign Arena before the team flew to D.C.
Carolina did not hold a morning skate Thursday, but Brind’Amour said Chatfield was skating at the arena during the morning’s media availability.
“He’s down there now. I’ll find out,” Brind’Amour said of Chatfield’s status for Game 5. “But I don’t anticipate any changes.”
If Chatfield can’t play, signs point to rookie Alexander Nikishin getting the opportunity to make his NHL debut. Nikishin skated alongside countryman Dmitry Orlov — Chatfield’s usual partner — on Wednesday, with Orlov moving to the right side so the left-landed Nikishin could stay on his natural side.
Brind’Amour, however, tempered that talk on Tuesday when asked if Nikishin was next man up should Carolina need a defenseman.
“Possibly. We’ve got a couple options, and we’ve had looks at other guys,” Brind’Amour said. “So I think there’s a comfort, at least you know what you’re getting versus not really sure. And it’d be a tough situation to plop a kid in that hasn’t played a game over here with these stakes.
“But like I said, we’re just trying to give him every step of the way. Hopefully we don’t have to make those decisions, but if we do, we’ll figure it out.”
2. It’s hard to imagine a much better situation for Nikishin to get his feet wet during playoff time. Carolina has a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Capitals, and Nikishin has expressed an interest in getting the opportunity to play against fellow Russian Alexander Ovechkin.
Also, the fact that it’s Chatfield who is question opens the door for Nikishin to play alongside Orlov — a key factor seeing that Brind’Amour has expressed concern that the language barrier could impede Nikishin’s ability to jump in.
It’s not totally ideal: The move requires Orlov to move to his off side, and Washington will also have the benefit of last change on home ice. Sean Walker should be able to seamlessly step into Chatfield’s penalty killing duties, which would ease some concerns.
We’ve seen Brind’Amour pull a bait and switch before this postseason, telling reporters hours before a game that he didn’t anticipate any lineup changes only to sit Jack Roslovic for Mark Jankowski. It could happen again tonight.
3. How have the Hurricanes fared in games when they have a chance to finish off a playoff opponent over the past seven postseasons? Let’s dive in.
The first playoff series of the Brind’Amour era was against the Capitals in 2019, and Carolina won Game 7 in double overtime to knock out the defending champs. The Hurricanes then executed a sweep over the Islanders in Round 2.
The 2019-20 season had the bubble, and Carolina won its play-in series in three straight over the Rangers. The following year, the Hurricanes eliminated the Predators at the first opportunity, winning Game 6.
In 2022, Boston staved off elimination in Game 6 at home but couldn’t best the Hurricanes in Raleigh, with Carolina winning Game 7. That was followed, however, by the only time under Brind’amour that the Hurricanes haven’t won a series during which they had the chance to knock out an opponent, losing Games 6 and 7 to the Rangers after leading the series 3-2.
In 2023, Carolina lost Game 5 on the road on Long Island but returned home and closed things out against the Islanders in Game 6. In the following round, the Hurricanes won Game 5 at home to eliminate New Jersey. Then last season, Carolina wrapped things up at home in Game 5 vs. the Islanders. In Round 1 this year, the Hurricanes again led 3-1 and finished things off, beating the Devils. The franchise is 8-0 in series it has led 3-1.
Fun side fact: In the nine games when the Hurricanes have eliminated a playoff foe, Sebastian Aho has eight goals.
4. Aho returns to Capital One Arena with a different line than the one he had in Games 1 and 2. Brind’Amour shifted Seth Jarvis to the top line opposite Andrei Svechnikov during Game 3, moving Jackson Blake down the lineup and reuniting William Carrier with Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook.
Aho doesn’t think the Capitals’ ability to dictate the matchups will impact his current line’s plan.
“To me, I just go out there and try to win every shift I play out there,” he said Thursday morning. “So sometimes you switch lines a little bit to — it’s almost like a mental reset to get different looks and stuff like that. But I think the good thing about our team (is) all four lines play very similar style hockey.”
Taylor Hall echoed that sentiment.
“All four lines do play the same way,” he said. “And if you do get moved up a line or if someone gets hurt or if we’re down to 10 or 11 forwards, it’s not a huge deal for us because we do know how to play with each other, and we know how we need to play.”
5. Thursday’s game will be Hall’s 10th of the postseason, one shy of the most he’s played in a playoff year (11 with Boston in 2021). That’s a long way from what Hall went through the last couple of seasons, rehabbing an injury and then playing for the bottom-feeding Blackhawks for more than three months this season.
“I’m having a lot of fun,” Hall said. “It’s playoff hockey. It really is the best. … I find it’s the best because you don’t have to have to get motivated for it, the motivation’s there. Coming on the road, staying in the same hotel for a few days. We have the lounge here. We watch all the playoff games. We go to dinner — just all of it.
“And then the hockey itself. The atmosphere in Carolina, and then coming into a road city and finding a way to get a win and quiet them. All of that is just a lot of fun. So when I look back on my last couple years, I did seven months of rehab last year on my knee, pretty isolated at times. And now this year, starting in Chicago and not really enjoying hockey as much as I would have liked to. And then coming here and really finding that joy and being on a good team and a team that has a goal, an ultimate goal, has been a lot of fun.”
