The Canes jumped on the Capitals early on Wednesday, taking control throughout and earning a commanding 5-1 victory.
Jackson Blake had his first multi-goal game as an NHLer, Seth Jarvis joined the 30-goal club for a second consecutive season, and Carolina’s power play struck three times.
Things got heated as the game progressed, especially in the third period, where the two teams combined for 142 penalty minutes.
Previous Meetings vs. DET
March 14: Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jack Roslovic both had a pair of points in the Canes’ 4-2 victory at Lenovo Center.
March 4: Carolina earned a 2-1 win at Little Caesars Arena.
“We’re In!”
With their win on Wednesday, the Canes locked up their seventh consecutive playoff berth. Leading the charge for all seven appearances, Rod Brind’Amour is now the only active coach to reach the postseason in his first seven seasons behind the bench.
The team has now tied the longest consecutive playoff run in franchise history, matching the Whalers’ stretch from 1985-92.
Powerful Power Play…
The Canes’ power play scored three times on Wednesday, matching a season-high. They’ve now scored at least one power play goal in five consecutive games, tied for the longest run of the season.
Seth Jarvis and Taylor Hall both have five power-play points in the team’s last five games.
In Net…
Pyotr Kochetkov (26-13-3 | 2.54 GAA | .901 SV%) is expected to get the nod tonight after Frederik Andersen (13-5-0 | 1.95 GAA | .920 SV%) started Wednesday’s win over the Capitals.
Kochetkov got back in the win column on Sunday against the Islanders and is set to face the Red Wings for the third time in his NHL career. The young backstop earned a 27-save shutout at Little Caesars Arena on Dec. 13, 2022.
On The Other Side…
The Red Wings are currently on the outside of the playoff picture, looking in, but still have hope with eight games remaining on their schedule.
After making a coaching change at the holiday break, Detroit initially got hot under new bench boss Todd McLellan, but has gone cold since the calendar flipped to March. 4-10-1 in their last 15, the penalty kill has been a real sore spot for them during that time, ranking dead last by killing off just 64.5% of infractions. They’ve also won just 44.1% of faceoffs (31st).
Despite the slide, Patrick Kane has remained productive for the team, posting 17 points during that same 15-game stretch.
In net, Detroit has gone with a three-headed monster over the last five weeks, as former Hurricanes Alex Lyon and Petr Mrazek have both played five games, while Cam Talbot has been tapped for seven appearances.
