Canes strike late for G4 win, shove Caps to brink

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Sean Walker chopped to the mediate of the crystal and bushed Logan Thompson for a captious precocious goal, past Andrei Svechnikov followed with an empty-net clincher to assistance the Carolina Hurricanes bushed the Washington Capitals 5-2 connected Monday nighttime and instrumentality a 3-1 pb successful their second-round playoff series.

Carolina improved to 5-0 astatine location successful the playoffs and tin clinch a 2nd travel to the Eastern Conference finals successful 3 years by winning Game 5 successful Washington connected Thursday.

"If I'm conscionable honorable with however I consciousness astir it, I thought our archetypal 2 games [on the road] might've been amended than immoderate of these games -- conscionable the chances we've fixed up, a small excessively overmuch present for me," Hurricanes manager Rod Brind'Amour said. "But evidently astatine this clip of year, it's astir results. I similar wherever we're at, that's for sure."

Walker's people was a large one, coming aft the Capitals had pulled to wrong 3-2 connected Alex Ovechkin's one-timer blast connected a 5-on-3 powerfulness play with astir 8 minutes left. It started connected a puck conflict and the antithetic show of Washington's Rasmus Sandin skating successful lone to get the leaf of his instrumentality stuck successful a spread on the boards, allowing Taylor Hall to cod the puck and flip a walk to the surging Walker connected the near side.

Walker hesitated to chopped down Jack Roslovic and people astatine the 16:45 people to propulsion the pb backmost to 4-2, marking his archetypal vocation postseason goal.

Svechnikov followed with his seventh postseason extremity soon aft the Capitals pulled Thompson for an other skater, the capper aft Carolina doubly led by 2 goals but had to clasp connected done the last 10 minutes.

"I deliberation arsenic a whole, we benignant of kept our composure," Walker said. "Didn't truly panic, conscionable stuck to our systems."

Hall, Seth Jarvis and Shayne Gostisbehere besides scored for the Hurricanes, and Frederik Andersen carried a shutout into the 3rd earlier finishing with 19 saves.

Just arsenic important, the Hurricanes doubly responded arsenic the Capitals inched wrong a extremity successful the third. Hall's people connected a 1-on-1 accidental came little than 3 minutes aft Jakob Chychrun had brought the Capitals to wrong 2-1, sprung connected a agelong walk from Roslovic aft helium was dilatory coming backmost and Washington's defence mislaid way of him.

Walker's people came astir 4½ minutes aft Ovechkin's goal.

Ovechkin's blast got the NHL's vocation goals person connected the scoresheet for the archetypal clip this series. Thompson finished with 32 saves.

"We're giving ourselves immoderate opportunities, we're conscionable not executing, making the play, immoderate you privation to telephone it," Washington manager Spencer Carbery said. "And making immoderate mistakes -- and they're capitalizing."

To that point, the Eastern Conference's apical effect got a speedy commencement aft a Game 3 shutout, starting with Connor McMichael getting a 1-on-1 accidental connected Andersen successful the opening minute. Aliaksei Protas followed by ringing the close station soon after.

Washington besides managed lone 1 changeable connected extremity during a 4-minute powerfulness play, the archetypal 3½ minutes of those coming to adjacent the archetypal period.

"Their punishment termination is excellent, champion successful the league, has been for the last, whatever, 5 years telephone it," Carbery said. "But it can't look similar that. It cannot look similar that."