From the moment they were paired together this season, the Dmitry Orlov and Jalen Chatfield pairing looked special.
Despite anchoring the Carolina Hurricanes' "third pairing," the duo dominated their matchups at even strength, either leading the league or being in the top-3 in most possession metrics through the regular season.
When Orlov was brought in this offseason on a two-year, $7.75 million AAV contract, a lot of people questioned the decision to pay that much for him with an already crowded blueline, but since getting comfortable in Carolina's system around the midway point of the season, the Russian blueliner has been a difference maker.
"He's played a lot of games and he knows how to play the game," said Chatfield on his partner. "He's physical, knows how to move the puck, has great offensive instincts and he just knows the game really well. Even just talking in between periods about little things that he sees that we can do. Whether it's a D-to-D on the point or just the little things a veteran can bring. He's got a lot of experiences, so just his knowledge of the game and how good he is is everything."
The steady, veteran presence of Orlov has also complemented perfectly with Chatfield's skating and instincts which have seen the latter bloom into a key player.
"He's a good skater," Orlov said. "Always can recover if something bad happens. That's important as a d-man. He's quick and plays hard, which is helpful for me. We just try to help each other. Use his strengths. When I see where can jump into a play or a time to use your instincts."
The ability of the Canes to have the two as their third pair, when in all likelyhood they would be in nearly every team in the league's top-four, is just a prime example of the absurd depth they've been able to enjoy this season.
And now that they're comfortable with each other, they've grown into an even stronger pairing.
"We both just love the game," Chatfield said on what makes the pairing work. "We've played all year together and I think we really try to find out how each other plays. We talk off the ice about little things and I think just having so many games under your belt, building that chemistry comes naturally and I just know now how he's going to play, what he likes to do, where he likes to try and get the puck and just reading off of him. I think that's what it is. Just making reads. You see [Skjei] and Pesce can do it and with [Burns] and [Slavin]. Playing all those games together, you just naturally get a click for a guy and I think that's what's huge for D pairs."
"It's good to play most of the games together," Orlov echoed. "It's helpful when you know and play with the same guy for so long. You just get used to what to expect and obviously communication is huge. When you're talking on the ice, it's helpful. Sometimes other teams forecheck us hard so we need to always be aware of everyone. Where's your partner, where's your teammates? Talking is the most important thing, especially in the postseason."
And now the pair is being tasked with their biggest responsibilities yet.
Since the injury to Brett Pesce in Game 2 of the first-round series against the New York Islanders, no pairing on the Hurricanes has played more even strength minutes than Orlov-Chatfield.
"We just try to do our job," Chatfield said about handling the extra responsibilities. "That's what we've done all year whenever we have to go play or get sent out there. We've gotten a little bit more minutes and I think we've handled it pretty well. [Orlov's] used to playing those big minutes his whole career. For me, I wouldn't say it's too different, because I've played minutes like that, but I've just been taking in the new role and doing what I can to help the team win."
The two have controlled a 60.6 CF% (1st in the postseason) and 54.5 xGF% (5th in the postseason) in 10 playoff games and have seen themselves evolve into one of Carolina's primary shutdown groupings.
Both have also seen a bump in their average shorthanded ice time, with Chatfield nearly doubling his per-game-average from the regular season in the absence of Pesce.
"When you play more, you're more in the game," Orlov said. "You feel more comfortable and confident in yourself and in the postseason, every shift matters and you try to leave everything out there."
The two have also been chipping in on the offensive side of the game too as Orlov has two goals and five points while Chatfield has two assists.
While the pairing has had strong possession numbers, they've gotten burned a couple of times, having been on the ice for four goals for and five goals against.
However, they've primarily been utilized against the Trocheck and Zibanejad lines, a big change from their normal deployment in the regular season.
And with elite players like that, it's more about limiting them because you can't completely neutralize them and the pairing has done a much better job in keeping those dangerous players off the scoresheet over the last two games.
"Just getting closer to them and not giving them as much ice as they want," Orlov said. "Some guys are good in possession and try to find the plays especially when they enter the zone and then they cut back. You have to make sure you're close to them right away so they aren't able to find a nice pass to someone and get beat up the ice. Getting physical too. I think it doesn't matter which team you play against. Against good guys, playing physical and getting closer and not giving them much time. Also playing more in the offensive zone. It's tough when you play defense and gets frustrating. Sometimes you don't feel comfortable or confident when you play a lot in the D-zone, especially if you like to play more offensively."
Carolina remains in a do-or-die state heading into Game 6 in Raleigh and if they hope to continue to stay alive they're going to need guys like Orlov and Chatfield to do their job: working hard keep the Rangers' top guys frustrated and off their game.
"Every mistake can make a difference in the postseason," Orlov said. "Most of the time we've done a good job at that and right now obviously, we're still chasing the series. Our mindset is just to not change. We just need to win one game, the next game. Not think too much about far away."
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