Carolina Hurricanes vs Washington Capitals Prediction, Preview and Odds - 05/08/2025

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Thursday, May 8, 2025

Venue:  Capital One Arena, Washington, DC

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Hurricanes -135, Capitals +114; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Hurricanes -135, Capitals +115; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Hurricanes -135, Capitals +115; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

Carolina Hurricanes:  47-30-5 (2nd place, Metropolitan Division)

Washington Capitals:  51-22-9 (1st place, Metropolitan Division)

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Carolina Hurricanes:  6-3-1 last 10

Washington Capitals:  5-4-1 last 10

The Hurricanes are entering the playoffs with 99 points, a 47-30-5 record overall, and they were 16-21-4 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a win against the Washington Capitals in their last game, winning that one on the road 2-1 in overtime. Jaccob Slavin and Logan Stankoven each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Jordan Martinook, and Dmitry Orlov each led the team in assists with 1 while Jaccob Slavin led the team in shots on net in that game with 5. Frederik Andersen was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 1 goal on 14 shots with 13 saves and a .928 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 266 goals this season averaging 3.2 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 233 goals against them allowing 2.8 goals per game.

The Capitals are entering the playoffs with 111 points, a 51-22-9 record overall, and they were 26-9-6 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a loss against the Carolina Hurricanes in their last game, losing that one at home 2-1 in OT. Aliaksei Protas scored 1 goal for them in that one. John Carlson and Brandon Duhaime each led the team in assists with 1 while Ryan Leonard led the team in shots on net in that game with 3. Logan Thompson was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 2 goals on 33 shots with 31 saves and a .939 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 288 goals this season averaging 3.5 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 232 goals against them allowing 2.8 goals per game.

The current betting odds have the Hurricanes listed as a slight favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. This is game 2 of a 7 game series between the 1st seeded Capitals and the 2nd seeded Hurricanes from the Metropolitan Division for the 2nd round of the NHL Eastern Conference playoffs. The Hurricanes are leading this series 1-0 after winning game 1 on the road. The Hurricanes took a 1-0 series lead with a 2-1 win over the Capitals in the 1st game of this series and that was a game that needed overtime to decide a winner. The Hurricanes ended up taking that game in overtime, but they did trail for most of that game as it wasn't until the 3rd period when they tied the game. Even though they trailed for most of the game, the Hurricanes looked like the better team in that game as they took a lot more shots than the Capitals did and pretty much outplayed them for 4 periods. The Hurricanes did give the Capitals some trouble during the regular season too so they aren't just going to stop at game 1, especially with the way they outplayed the Caps in that one. The Hurricanes also have the edge with their goaltending since Andersen has been really hot throughout the playoffs, and the Capitals really struggled to score on him in game 1. The Capitals have the pressure on them to win a home game now as the best team in the East, but the Hurricanes have been rolling in their games lately and can take advantage of the Capitals who haven't looked quite right in the playoffs yet, even going back to the last series against the Canadiens. The best way to place a bet here is on the Hurricanes to win this game. 

Hurricanes Capitals Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Thursday, May 8, 2025 (7:00 pm ET start time) is Hurricanes 3 Capitals 1.

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Carolina Hurricanes: 44-43 (-19 units) on the moneyline as a road favorite of -200 or less. 103-65 (-9.7 units) on the moneyline off a win in their previous game. 75-60 (-10.5 units) on the moneyline when playing against a team with a winning record. 8-4 OVER in the second round of the playoffs.

Washington Capitals: 11-6 (+6.1 units) on the moneyline off a home loss against a division rival. 66-59 (+13 units) on the moneyline revenging a loss versus opponent as a favorite. 70-56 (+14 units) on the moneyline after playing a home game. 9-4 OVER off a home loss against a division rival.

Carolina Hurricanes:  M. Jankowski (C) Day To Day - Undisclosed. J. Fast (RW) Out For Season - Neck.

Washington Capitals:  M. Fehervary (D) Out For Season - Meniscus. S. Milano (LW) Out - Upper-body. N. Backstrom (C) Out For Season - Hip. T. Oshie (RW) Out For Season - Back.

“I thought our guys played hard every shift, right from the start of the game. I liked how we were playing. Obviously we were down. But yeah, there's a certain plan. Both teams have it. I thought we were on it tonight. Sometimes you don't get rewarded, but tonight we did.” - Rod Brind’Amour after his team’s win against the Capitals in game 1 of this series on Tuesday.

“It wasn't good. That's the bottom line. Our entire game was not good. We'll regroup and get ready for Game 2.” - Spencer Carbery after his team’s loss against the Hurricanes in game 1 of this series on Tuesday.

LW Andrei Svechnikov

C Sebastian Aho

RW Jackson Blake

LD Jaccob Slavin

RD Brent Burns

G Frederik Andersen

LW Alex Ovechkin

C Dylan Strome

RW Anthony Beauvillier

LD Jakob Chychrun

RD John Carlson

G Logan Thompson

Points: S. Aho (74)

Goals: S. Jarvis (32)

Assists: S. Aho (45)

GAA: F. Andersen (2.50)

Points: D. Strome (82)

Goals: A. Ovechkin (44)

Assists: D. Strome (53)

GAA: L. Thompson (2.49)

Coaches:

Carolina Hurricanes: Rod Brind'Amour (7th season)

Washington Capitals: Spencer Carbery (2nd season)