The stage was set for this to be a spirited battle, as the long-standing rivalry between the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals was renewed in the Canes’ 5-1 thrashing of them in Raleigh last week. The game was extremely scrappy as it went along, with a whopping 122 penalty minutes in the third period alone, and multiple players from both teams ejected for fighting.
The Canes got off to a super strong start and jumped to a 2-0 lead early, but the Capitals showed resiliency as they have all season and flipped the game, taking a 4-2 lead out of the second period. The Hurricanes then fought back hard in the third, and tied the game thanks to a fantastic Seth Jarvis goal in the final couple of minutes. Overtime and eventually a shootout followed, and the Capitals prevailed in the skills competition, giving them a 5-4 victory. Without further ado, let’s talk about three important storylines from the game.
Chatfield Answers the Bell
It was pretty obvious to anyone with a rooting interest in this game that the Capitals would be, in a way, “targeting” Jalen Chatfield after his fight with Connor McMichael in last week’s game went viral for the violent nature of his takedown. I can understand when teams take the liberty of making a guy answer for a dirty play that results in a teammate sustaining an injury, but McMichael was not hurt in the fight and was a willing combatant.
Still, to no one’s surprise, Capitals winger Brandon Duhaime challenged Chatfield to a scrap just minutes into the game. For context, this was the 10th fight of the season for Duhaime alone compared to the grand total of two that Chatfield has in his entire NHL career. As far as the fight itself, Duhaime was throwing punches at Chatfield’s helmet, which never came off. Duhaime scored the takedown and the win, but it’s hard to view it as much of a victory when he did more damage to his hand than he did to Chatfield.
Duhaime drops the gloves with Chatfield after Chatfield's takedown of McMichael in these teams' last meeting 👀 pic.twitter.com/0Po2TwqaT5
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 11, 2025
And while this was expected, I feel like the entire premise of it was absurd. Like I said, Chatfield and McMichael made the decision to drop the gloves in the previous meeting — they are guys who typically don’t fight, but they went at it, and neither guy was injured. It should have been buried right then and there. For whatever reason it wasn’t, and Chatfield has gained even more of my respect by taking a fight in response to taking a fight. But the fact that he even had to is bogus.
Jackson Blake Is On Fire
He’s had a very good rookie season as a whole, but Jackson Blake hitting his stride as the playoffs approach is very good news for the organization. He was absolutely everywhere in the first period, when he scored the second goal of the game for the Canes and peppered four shots on Charlie Lindgren. He was dangerous for the entirety of the game, and was leaned on in overtime and selected for the shootout as well. His growth has been rapid, and the coaching staff clearly trusts him more and more.
The past few weeks have seen a massive shift in Blake’s production, as he’s got five goals and 10 points in the team’s past 12 games. It’s apparent to anybody who watches the games that his confidence continues to grow with each passing shift, and he’s generating multiple scoring chances for both himself and his teammates on a nightly basis. Playing alongside Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis on the top line has done wonders for his offensive game, and now we’re starting to consistently see that firepower that we knew he was capable of providing.
Goaltending Remains a Concern
Frederik Andersen had been on a very good run of form in the month of March. He’d won six of his seven starts, allowed just 11 goals and had a dazzling .939 save percentage (SV%) in those games. However, the past two games have not been so great — he’s given up a combined nine goals on just 55 shots and has not looked good for the most part. He kept the team alive with some good saves in the third period, but overall his rebound control and puck awareness have been noticeably bad, and that’s sure to raise questions going into the playoffs considering his lackluster postseason history.
On the other hand, I’ve been a Pyotr Kochetkov truther over the years, but it’s hard to go to bat for him right now. This is his third extended season in the NHL and he’s yet to find the required level of consistency. He can be a brick wall in net when he’s on, and the team can feed off his energy. But on his off nights — which are more frequent than most would like — he can be pretty bad. His recent performances haven’t really been all that convincing either, and it’s hard to trust a guy that you’re not sure what version of him you’re going to get on a nightly basis — especially in the playoffs when every game is so important.
Related: Taylor Hall Bringing More to the Hurricanes Than Anyone Expected
As things stand, I would probably lean toward starting Andersen in Game 1 against the New Jersey Devils, but I can’t say that I’m confident about it. Neither guy has proven beyond doubt that they have the ability to elevate when the game is on the line. Kochetkov has the higher ceiling on any given night, but I feel like it may be the wiser choice to opt for the safer floor of Andersen — at least to start the playoffs.
What’s Next
The Hurricanes have just four games remaining in the regular season. They’ll wrap up their home schedule with visits from the New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs this weekend, before heading to Canada for road meetings in Montreal and Ottawa. Hopefully, the Canes can get a couple wins and build some momentum heading into the postseason.
