Wins it at 18:01 for Carolina, which will face Florida or Toronto
WASHINGTON -- Andrei Svechnikov scored the go-ahead goal with 1:59 remaining in the third period, and the Carolina Hurricanes eliminated the Washington Capitals with a 3-1 win in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Capital One Arena on Thursday.
Svechnikov took a return pass from Sean Walker on the rush and scored on a tough-angle shot from the bottom of the right circle.
Seth Jarvis scored into an empty net with 27 seconds remaining for the 3-1 final.
Carolina will play either the Toronto Maple Leafs or Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final. Florida leads the best-of-7 series 3-2 with Game 6 Friday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC).
Jarvis had a goal and an assist, and Jordan Staal also scored for the Hurricanes, who are the No. 2 seed from the Metropolitan Division. Frederik Andersen made 18 saves.
Anthony Beauvillier scored for the Capitals, the No. 1 seed from the Metropolitan and the Eastern Conference. Logan Thompson made 18 saves.
Staal gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead at 9:38 of the first period. He knocked the puck away from defenseman Jakob Chychrun along the boards to Jordan Martinook, who passed back to Staal for a wrist shot from the right circle.
Beauvillier tied it 1-1 at 13:41. Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin attempted to rim the puck around his own net, but it caromed off the end boards to the top of the crease for Beauvillier to shove between Andersen’s pads.
Thompson made a lunging stick save with 36 seconds remaining in the first period to deny Logan Stankoven of a tap-in at the top of the crease to keep the game tied.
Matt Roy appeared to give the Capitals a 2-1 lead with a one-timer at 2:15 of the second period, but Carolina challenged and video review determined that the goal was offside on the zone entry.
