The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Washington Capitals 5-1 on Wednesday night. Although they gave up goal number 892 to Alex Ovechkin and there were 142 penalty minutes in the game, Carolina clinched a playoff spot. This is their seventh consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but one writer did not think it was going to happen this year. The Hurricanes took a shot at ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski after making the playoffs once again.
Berp pic.twitter.com/TLN6RX8gfA
— x – Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) April 3, 2025
They are called bold predictions for a reason. Wyshynski said that the Hurricanes would not make the playoffs because they could not keep Jake Guentzel in free agency. They also lost forward Tuevo Teravainen and defensemen Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei from a team that lost in the second round. But the Hurricanes have made the playoffs thanks to a few great seasons despite a wild trade season.
The Hurricanes traded for Mikko Rantanen in a stunning January deal with the Colorado Avalanche. They sent Martin Necas and Jack Drury for Rantanen, hoping to extend one of the elite scorers in the league. But when negotiations fell apart, they traded Rantanen to the Dallas Stars for Logan Stankoven and two first-rounders. Wyshynski certainly did not see any of that coming, but the Hurricanes made the playoffs regardless.
The Hurricanes need elite goal scoring to win in the playoffs
During the game against the Capitals, Seth Jarvis scored his 30th goal of the season. The 23-year-old was solid for Team Canada during the 4 Nations Face-Off and has taken the reins for Carolina. Necas was having a great season and Rantanen could have taken off given more time. The musical chairs of the trade deadline left them with two first-rounders they can deal in the offseason.
If Jarvis or Stankoven takes a big step forward during the playoffs, the Hurricanes can make a run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. But the rest of the forward core lacks the elite scorers that other Eastern Conference teams have. The likes of Ovechkin, Auston Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk, and Nikita Kucherov are all competing for a spot in the Final as well.
To give Wyshynski credit, he hit on a solid amount of his preseason bold predictions. Seth Jones did get traded from the Blackhawks, Habs defenseman Lane Hutson will be a Calder finalist, the Red Wings have gone backwards, and Igor Shesterkin has a new deal. He didn’t hit 1.000, though, and the Hurricanes reminded him of that.
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