The Carolina Hurricanes are in the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals of the 2025 National Hockey League Stanley Cup Playoffs. On Thursday, the Hurricanes defeated the Washington Capitals 3-1 in the fifth game of the best out of seven series to win the series four gams to one.
Who contributed to the Hurricanes in game five?
The Hurricanes leading scorer was forward Seth Jarvis of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Jarvis, who plays center and right wing, had one goal and one assist for two points. The goal was an unassisted empty netter with 27 seconds left in regulation. Jarvis also had the secondary assist on a dramatic game-winning goal late in the third period by Andrei Svechnikov of Barnaul, Russia. Defenseman Sean Walker of Keswick, Ontario had the other assist. Svechnikov’s goal came with only one minute and 59 seconds left in regulation and broke a 1-1 deadlock.
The Hurricanes opened the scoring on a goal by captain Jordan Staal of Thunder Bay, Ontario. He scored from left winger Jordan Martinook of Brandon, Manitoba at 9:38 of the first period.
Carolina also got strong goaltending from Frederik Andersen of Herning, Denmark. He made 18 saves on 19 shots.
Stopped Alexander Ovechkin
One major reason why the Hurricanes are moving on is because Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin of Moscow, Russia was not a difference maker. In fact, he only had one goal in five games and was a -3. Yes, he did lead the Hurricanes in shots on goal with 14, but had an abysmal 7.3% shooting percentage. Ovechkin set the NHL record for most goals all-time in a career with 897, and had 44 regular season goals in 2024-25, but could not carry over his past success into the series.
Who do the Hurricanes play next?
The answer is either the Toronto Maple Leafs or the Florida Panthers. The Panthers lead that series three games to two with game six in south Florida on Friday night.
