1. Familiarity and Contempt
When the Caps (as defending Stanley Cup champions) last faced the Hurricanes in the playoffs six years ago, a dozen players featured in the series who also figure to play significant roles in this one, including a “swap” of blueliners:
Ovechkin tallied four goals and five assists in the seven games, Wilson three and two, Eller one and two, and Dowd a goal; Carlson had five assists, Orlov four. On the other side of the matchup… eh, who cares. Point being, these teams know each other real well. Including those seven games, Ovechkin has faced Carolina exactly 100 times in his career (52 goals, 55 assists); Jordan Staal has seen the Caps 79 times as a ‘Cane and a Penguin (hell of a combo).