The Capitals know they're in for a fierce second round against the Hurricanes. (James Guillory — Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/02665525-b422-4e15-9b0e-57dd3bc20213.jpeg] The Capitals know they're in for a fierce second round against the Hurricanes. (James Guillory — Imagn Images) WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals learned a lot about themselves as they advanced in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2018 on Wednesday, and their biggest takeaway was their resilience and ability to find a way to get the job done. That can-do attitude will be key going into the second round, where the Capitals, who finished off the Wild Card Montreal Canadiens in five games, will face a much tougher opponent in the Carolina Hurricanes [http://thehockeynews.com/nhl/carolina-hurricanes]. "Everyone kind of knows how they play," Dylan Strome said matter-of-factly. Washington and Carolina split their season series, with each picking up two regulation wins through four games. Dylan Strome and Alex Ovechkin both led the way in scoring against the Hurricanes this season with three points apiece, while Seth Jarvis' five points through four games were the most against the Capitals. Looking ahead to the series, Strome stressed the importance of puck possession and making the most of limited space. "They dump a lot of pucks in. They don't let you have a lot of zone time. We're going to need to find a way to combat that. They're a great team," Strome said. "We've had some pretty good games with them this year, some physical games, so I expect a little bit more of what we saw in this series: kind of a physical style. But it's going to be huge to have the puck. We need the puck." The last two games of the season in April featured quite a bit of physicality as well; on April 2, both teams combined for eight misconducts and 114 penalty minutes in the final seven minutes of regulation [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/washington-capitals/latest-news/capitals-hurricanes-combine-for-114-penalty-minutes-in-final-seven-of-regulation]. Then, days later, Dylan McIlrath fought Jalen Chatfield, payback for his takedown of Connor McMichael [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/washington-capitals/latest-news/hurricanes-chatfield-wont-receive-supplemental-discipline-for-mma-style-takedown-of-capitals-mcmichael]. "They play direct hockey," Tom Wilson said. "Predictable to each other." Familiarity will help, for sure, as the Capitals expect a high-octane, action-packed series. "We're going to enjoy this for sure first, and we know them really well," Wilson said, adding, "I'm sure our coaches will give us a good game plan and we'll enjoy this one and be focused, and we'll be ready to go. It's gonna get fast and physical." That said, the Capitals also know one thing: it's not going to be easy. "It's exciting. It's what we all want in this room, what we all worked for all year and it's just exciting to get to that next series," Jakob Chychrun said, adding, "It's only gonna get harder from here." As Washington prepares for its Metropolitan rival, the team remains confident and faithful in its group entering a pivotal second round, maintaining the resiliency that has powered D.C. all season long. “It doesn’t matter what happen, we stick together and we always believe. Since Day 1, when new pieces, new faces come to the locker room, you can feel it," Alex Ovechkin said. "We support each other, and the most important thing is we have fun. It doesn’t matter it’s up or down, we try to be positive and try to win the games. That’s the most important thing.”
