Key decisions ahead for Hurricanes in 1-1 series with Capitals

The Carolina Hurricanes return home for a pivotal Game 3 against the Washington Capitals, their second-round Stanley Cup playoff opponent, as their 1-1 series resumes Saturday in Raleigh, N.C.
The team that takes the third game of a best-of-seven series tied 1-1 advances nearly 66 percent of the time, according to ChampsorChumps.com. It’s tied thanks to Washington earning a 3-1 home win on Thursday.
Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour may have a decision to make ahead of Saturday’s game. Center Mark Jankowski missed Game 2 because of an undisclosed injury he suffered during Tuesday’s series opener. Jack Roslovic took Jankowski’s spot in the lineup Thursday, and while Roslovic was the team’s third-best goal scorer with 22 goals in the regular season, the 28-year-old has only one assist in four playoff games this postseason.
Roslovic last scored a goal in the Hurricanes’ regular-season finale at Ottawa on April 17, but prior to that, he went 15 games without one.
Jankowski practiced on Friday, and Brind’Amour said he’d know on Saturday if the 30-year-old acquired from Nashville could play. However, Roslovic could provide Carolina with another scoring threat in a series where goals have been tough to come by. The Hurricanes have just three goals in 61 shots on net in the first two games.
In 18 career regular-season games against Washington, Roslovic has eight points (two goals, six assists). Last season, as a member of the New York Rangers, he scored two goals and added two assists against the Capitals in the playoffs.
“In a tight series where you’re looking for someone that, when he gets that chance on his stick, can he put it in the net? Rosie’s probably one of our better players,” Brind’Amour said.
Washington had the best record in the Eastern Conference to earn home ice in this series, but coach Spencer Carbery said the team is embracing an “underdog mentality,” as many did not expect the Capitals to be in this situation at the beginning of the season. He told reporters Friday that defenseman John Carlson, who scored the game-winner on Thursday, is a prime example of that.
The veteran defenseman, 35, is a plus-eight through seven postseason games. Against Carolina, he’s blocked three shots and recorded five hits so far in the series.
“I think it’s so impressive what he’s doing at this stage in his career, continuing to prove that he’s an elite defenseman in this league,” Carbery added.
Goalie Logan Thompson, who earned his first win against Carolina in either the regular season or postseason on Thursday, will get the start again Saturday. Backup netminder Charlie Lindgren will return after missing Thursday’s game due to a family matter.
The Capitals last faced this situation three years ago. They won Game 3 in the first round against the Florida Panthers at home. However, the Panthers won the next three games, two of which needed overtime, to take the series. The last time Washington won a series after being tied 1-1 was the 2018 Stanley Cup Final, when they beat the Vegas Golden Knights in five games.
Carolina last played a Game 3 in a tied series in 2020 against the Boston Bruins. Boston claimed the first-round series in five games. The last time the Hurricanes won a series that was tied after two games took place in 2009 when they beat the Bruins in Game 3 of their conference semifinal series and advanced after seven games.