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Carolina Hurricanes Alexander Nikishin Debuts as Andrei Svechnikov Puts Series Versus Washington Capitals to Bed

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After a historic campaign, the Washington Capitals incredible run for Lord Stanley’s Silver Chalice has come to an end. The Carolina Hurricanes will advance to the Eastern Conference finals to face the winner of the Florida Panthers and the Toronto Maple Leafs series. Game 6 of that series goes tonight.

The Carolina Hurricanes Advance to the Eastern Conference Final After Taking Series Versus Washington Capitals 4-1

The Washington Capitals hosted the fifth game of their heavy-hitting round versus the Carolina Hurricanes, and both teams hit the ground running, or skating, as it were. The two groups found themselves in a physical battle with hits and blocked shots throughout the first minutes, but neither were able to generate many scoring chances early.

The first penalty of the night proved to be fruitless, as would the rest throughout the game, as penalty kill units shined bright

After 9:38 passed, rubber found twine thanks to the Jordans from Carolina, as Jordan Staal buried his first goal of the playoffs with an assist from longtime linemate Jordan Martinook. However, the Hurricanes’ early lead didn’t last very long.

A rarity of a play came from the stick of star Hurricanes defenceman Jaccob Slavin, who mistakenly bounced a puck intended to wrap around the boards back towards netminder Frederik Andersen. With the Carolina goalie unable to cover the errant puck, which had arrived on his blocker side, Anthony Beauvillier capitalized on the opportunity to even the score. Oops.

What Happened Next Changed the Outcome of the Game

As the second period soon commenced, another goal blew the horn. Carolina’s freshest rookie, Alexander Nikishin, turned the puck over to Connor McMichael, who’s shot failed to go in but led to Washington defenceman Matt Roy scoring with 17:45 still on the clock. Except it was all for naught.

A coach’s challenge from Rod Brind’Amour revealed that McMichael had prematurely entered the zone before the tic-tac-toe-terror began for Carolina. The offsides goal was taken off the board, and the 19 seconds spent in the zone were returned to the clock.

It was a sigh of disappointment for the Capitals, but a sigh of relief for the Hurricanes.

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The game sat in a tie for the remainder of the second period and for most of the third. With many anticipating the game to remain tied and lead to an eventual overtime, a little magic happened. From an incredibly sharp angle, Andrei Svechnikov managed to get the puck past Logan Thompson with 1:59 to go.

After falling behind a goal with so little time left, head coach Spencer Carberry reeled in his backstop. Washington poured the pressure on Carolina, but the Hurricanes managed to clear the puck with a deflection, nullifying icing. With a little more back and forth outside of Carolina’s zone and 27 seconds left, Seth Jarvis sealed the deal with an empty net goal.

After the game, both teams lined up for handshakes, as is custom. Despite the bad blood that boiled, it did not taint the display of sportsmanship as players and staff alike exchanged shakes, pats, and (probably) kind words.

For the third time in seven years, the Hurricanes secured a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals. This time, surpassing the Capitals, who had their best season since winning the Stanley Cup in 2018.

Aah, Mister Svechnikov

As a tried-and-true playoff performer, his first and second round play has shifted the opinions of many who doubted his abilities during the regular season’s rough patches.

In Monday’s tilt, Andrei Svechnikov made franchise history. With nine games in the postseason, he scored seven goals—the most by any Hurricanes or Hartford Whalers skater in so few matches.

Adding a cherry on top, his goal Thursday night was the game-winner, effectively sealing the series against the Metropolitan Division Champions of the regular season.

He leads the team this postseason in goals with ten, shots on goal with 35, and shooting percentage with a snappy 22.9%.

Svechnikov wasn’t the only Russian Hurricanes player making waves

As the lights dimmed and The Star-Spangled Banner filled Capital One Arena, a new face stood among the Carolina crowd. Alexander Nikishin, a 23-year-old defenceman from Orel, Russia, stood by the bench alongside his new teammates. Though he has been with the team since mid-April, Nikishin had yet to make his debut in the NHL.

It wasn’t something anyone truly expected when the news first broke, due to Brind’Amour’s previous statements. “We’ve had looks at other guys”, he explained during a presser on Tuesday when asked if Nikishin would be the next man up.

“There’s a comfort in at least knowing what you’re getting versus not really sure…It’d be a tough, tough situation to plop a kid in that hasn’t played a game over here and with these stakes.”

On Thursday evening, Brind’Amour rolled the dice as Jalen Chatfield, a game-time decision who was anticipated to play, hung his skates for the night due to an undisclosed injury.

At the conclusion of his 16 shifts (10:33) on the ice, the coach’s gamble appeared to have been a decent option. He displayed an adequate ability to guard the puck and take it away—keys to any blueliner’s role. But he did also show areas which would require further development in the Hurricanes’ system and the NHL as a whole.

“I don’t know if there’s a tougher spot to throw a kid in. Especially when there’s such a language barrier”, Brind’Amour said after the game.

“I thought he did alright. We got a little fortunate on the one that was offside, because I think he turned that one over…But he hung in there, and you can see he’s gonna be a good player for us. He’s got a bright future.”

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Last Word on This Story

Truly, there is no hockey like playoff hockey. A season’s worth of buildup can collapse in the first round or carry through to a championship victory. It’s unpredictable, and quite frankly, if you had asked us midway through the regular season who would win the Stanley Cup, we would have said the Capitals were likely to go all the way.

One can’t help but wonder how differently this series would have looked if the Washington Capitals’ big guns could have produced versus the Carolina Hurricanes as we’d seen from the previous series. Throughout Round Two, the Hurricanes held Alexander Ovechkin to just one goal (during a five-on-three, no less).

However, Caps fans have to know that this team is building something. What should have been a retool or even rebuild year turned into one of their greatest runs, during a historic 50th year and a largely distracting (but awesome) goals record chase. With an incredible coach, great young talents, and veterans to lead the way, there is no telling what the upcoming campaigns will look like. But what we can tell you is that this Hurricanes fan will be excited to watch it with y’all.

Outside of this series, there are other really interesting storylines to follow. Perhaps you want a little insight on Carolina’s next matchup, or maybe you’re curious how the other conference is looking since the Knights are out of it. We don’t really know what to say about the Stars-Jets series aside from asking why and how there are so many hats. Dig in!

Main Photo: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

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