Hurricanes prepared to see Capitals’ ‘best’ in Game 5

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes have a pretty good track record when it comes to finishing teams off in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Under coach Rod Brind’Amour, they’re 9-5 in closeout games, 4-3 on the road, and 1-0 this postseason.

The Hurricanes will try to do it again when they look to eliminate the Washington Capitals in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Capital One Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS).

But none of those previous games matter, Brind’Amour said Wednesday.

“All of that is irrelevant,” he said. “We know how hard the game is going to be and we’re expecting that. The cliche of it is, it’s always the toughest one to get. They’re all tough. We understand that we’ve still got a big job to do.”

They also understand the Capitals, who were the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference this season, are not going to go away easily.

“Wherever there’s a situation where your back is against the wall, desperation comes out,” forward Sebastian Aho said. “We always expect the other team to bring their best. That’s for sure what’s going to happen [Thursday]. We’re going to be ready and dictate the game.”

Despite being up 3-1 in the best-of-7 series after winning Games 3 and 4 at home, the Hurricanes are looking for better starts after Washington controlled parts of the first period in each game.

“We have to start a little bit better and don’t give them lots of opportunities,” forward Andrei Svechnikov said. “We all watched that on the video this morning. We know it’s going to be hard. It’s going to be more physical, harder for us, but we’re ready to go.”

The Hurricanes have outshot the Capitals 126-77 in the series, limiting Alex Ovechkin, the NHL all-time leading goal-scorer (897), to 11 shots and one goal, and Dylan Strome, who scored an NHL career-high 29 goals this season, to six shots and no goals.

The Capitals, who were second in the NHL with an average of 3.49 goals per game during the regular season, have scored six in the first four games.

“That’s the most important part, it’s what you give up,” Brind’Amour said. “If we can keep that number down, that’s going to give you a chance every night. That’s what it’s done.”

Carolina, which had one 30-goal-scorer in the regular season (Seth Jarvis, 32), has relied upon balanced scoring during the second round. Ten players have scored a goal for the Hurricanes, Svechnikov and Shayne Gostisbehere with two each.

“When everyone’s on the same page and everyone is doing it right, it works pretty well,” defenseman Sean Walker said. “We spend a lot more time in their zone. [We] transition pucks. We don’t really give them a lot of time to breathe, which results in them not having a lot of offensive zone time.”

Statistical advantages and balanced scoring are good signs for Carolina, which is trying to advance to the conference final for the third time in the past seven seasons and reach the Cup Final for the first time since 2006, when it won the championship. But the team believes the recipe for success lies in consistency, particularly with a chance to clinch.

“Do-what-we-do has been working so far,” captain Jordan Staal said. “The last one is always the hardest, no matter how it plays out.”

The Hurricanes need no reminder about the caliber of the team they are trying to close out. The Capitals led the Eastern Conference with 111 points (51-22-9).

“It’s hard to beat a good team four times,” forward Eric Robinson said. “That’s what makes the playoffs so special.”

The Hurricanes do not appear to be making any changes for Game 5. Defenseman Jalen Chatfield was the only player who did not practice Thursday. Alexander Nikishin, who has yet to make his NHL debut, took Chatfield’s spot on the defensive pairing with Dmitry Orlov.

“Jalen will [play],” Brind’Amour said after practice. “We’re just giving him a little extra time.”