The Carolina Ale House – home to all the official Canes watch parties – erupted last night as the Canes’ Andrei Svechnikov scored the game-winning goal against the Washington Capitals with 1:59 left in the third period. Svechnikov’s snapshot goal will take the team to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second time in the past three postseasons. 

In the first round of the playoffs, the Canes took on the New Jersey Devils and defeated them 4-1 to move on to play the Capitals, who had defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 in their first-round series. The Capitals were the second-highest scoring team during the regular season, relying heavily on captain Alexander Ovechkin, who broke the NHL goal record earlier in the season.

During the regular season, the Canes were ranked tenth in the league, while the Capitals were second. However, the Canes had one advantage that caused them to stand victorious in their series: their goalie. The Canes’ starting goalie, Frederick Anderson, has had a stellar playoffs, with a record of 7-2 and a save percentage of .937. Capital’s Logan Thompson, however, has had a 5-5 record with only a .917 save percentage. While those are still some incredible stats, it was not enough to hold back the Canes’ forwards, who consistently outshot the Capitals.

The Canes’ current point leader is Seth Jarvis, who also scored the empty net goal on Thursday to make the game 3-1, solidifying their win. Their goal leader, Svechnikov, has nine goals in the postseason, which is the most by a Canes/Whalers player in the first nine games. These players may be the top leaders of the team, but what has consistently made the Canes successful is their cohesiveness and strong foundation. 

Throughout the season, there have been many critics of the Canes, claiming that their foundational skills make them “boring” or “plain”, but that is far from the truth. The Lenovo Center, where the Canes are based, has been nicknamed the “Loudest House in the NHL” since their 2002 Stanley Cup Playoff run. The Canes fans, nicknamed the Caniacs, show up and show out every game, whether it be their tailgates before games, their loud support during each minute of the match, or the watch parties that they have at every away game. 

The Canes will take on the Florida Panthers at Game One on May 20 after beating the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game Seven of their series. Their match-up should be an extremely invigorating series, as the last time they faced each other in the playoffs, the Panthers beat the Canes 4-0 in a complete blowout in 2023.