RALEIGH, N.C. — In the spring of 2018, Dmitry Orlov helped make happen what many thought impossible — bring a Stanley Cup to Washington, D.C.
“Every year you’ve got the opportunity when you make the playoffs,” Orlov said. “I did it once, a long time ago, and you want it, for sure.”
It certainly feels like a lifetime ago for the Carolina Hurricanes, who were left watching that postseason for the ninth straight offseason, seeing one of their division rivals lift the Cup a third consecutive time while the franchise spun its wheels.
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“If you look back,” Orlov said, “we still have pictures, videos, celebrations, things like in restaurants with the Cup, the summertime. It was just so much fun, so much craziness. And you’re always going to remember who you played with on that team. How (much) they mean to you.”
Sixteen days after Washington’s summer of celebration began with the Capitals’ Game 5 win over the Golden Knights in Las Vegas, new Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon promoted Rod Brind’Amour to head coach.
Just over 300 days later, the defending champions were entangled in a winner-take-all Game 7 against the upstart Hurricanes in the first round of the 2019 playoffs.
The Capitals built a 2-0 lead, with Orlov assisting on Washington’s second goal. By the end of the second period, Carolina had cut the home team’s lead to 3-2, and Jordan Staal’s goal at 2:56 of the third period knotted the score.
The game went to overtime — the ultimate sudden death — and at 11:05 of the second extra session, Hurricanes winger Brock McGinn scored on Washington goalie Braden Holtby, ending the Capitals’ reign atop the NHL and beginning Carolina’s streak of seven straight seasons with at least one postseason round win. “A tough series,” Orlov recalled.
The Hurricanes’ gentleman’s sweep of the Devils in this year’s first round set up a rematch that is years in the making: The Capitals, back on top as the Metropolitan Division’s best team, will face Carolina in the second round.
This time, Orlov will be on the other side, having signed with the Hurricanes in the summer of 2023 after a brief stop in Boston.
Game 1 will be the 10th time Orlov will play against the Capitals, but none of those were in the postseason.
“It’s the first time I’m going to have that experience in my life,” Orlov said. “I’m happy, I’m pumped, and I just can’t wait.”
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It will undoubtedly be emotional for Orlov, who will likely forever be associated with the Capitals, the team that drafted and developed him, the organization he helped erase four decades of disappointment with a championship. He expects Capitals fans to have a soft spot for him even though he’s rocking a different red than he did for 11 seasons in D.C.
“Probably, I would say yes. I don’t think I’m a bad guy,” Orlov said with a wry grin. “But right now, it’s the playoffs, and it’s completely different.”
Orlov closely watched longtime teammate and friend Alex Ovechkin’s chase of Wayne Gretzky’s goal record this season, rooting along with much of the hockey world — as long as the goal didn’t come against his new team.
After Carolina and Washington dispatched New Jersey and Montreal, respectively, in five games, the seemingly inevitable matchup was realized.
“You never know how life could end up, you know?” Orlov said. “And right now, I’m on a different side. I want to win. It’s going to be an important series for me as a person.”
Orlov’s not the only player to have left D.C. since the team’s Stanley Cup championship. In fact, only four — Ovechkin, John Carlson, Lars Eller (who returned this season) and Tom Wilson — will suit up for the Capitals in this series. Orlov will be lining up against them.
“I still kind of see him as a Cap,” Staal said, with a laugh, of Orlov. “I’ve grinded against him enough to feel that way. But, obviously, it’s still a long time ago and things changed. But we’re happy to have him on our side, for sure.”
While Carlson and Eller have slid into more supportive roles, Ovechkin continues to defy Father Time and be a threat. And then there’s Wilson, arguably the NHL’s most feared player, someone who can change a series in an instant. He did just that against Montreal, obliterating Canadiens defenseman Alexandre Carrier in Game 4, turning a 2-1 third-period deficit into a 5-2 win and a 3-1 series into a five-game exit for the Habs.
“I think it’s how it should be,” Orlov said of Wilson. “His physical game, it’s important for the team, for him. I’ve seen him grow as a player, as a leader in that organization. So you just need to be aware where he is.”
Tom Wilson ROCKED Alexandre Carrier, leading to the Caps’ game-tying goal! 💥 pic.twitter.com/1YjY6cvyPZ
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 28, 2025
Orlov will try to bring the lessons he learned from the Capitals’ long quest for a title to Raleigh, where the Hurricanes are attempting to get over the hump after reaching the Eastern Conference final twice under Brind’Amour but being swept both times.
“Everybody already gave up (on us),” Orlov said of the Capitals’ inability to get past the Penguins in the seasons before their 2018 Cup run. “The media: ‘OK, Washington’s not going to win it.’ And I think maybe the pressure came off of us.”
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This time around, the pressure is off the Hurricanes a bit, as well. Many left Carolina off their list of Stanley Cup contenders heading into this season, given the team’s losses in free agency. The pre-deadline additions of Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall rekindled the Hurricanes’ position as a favorite, but Rantanen’s prompt exit again pushed Carolina to under-the-radar status.
While the Hurricanes are the betting favorites against the Capitals, many still point to their questions in goal and supposed lack of firepower. Washington will also have the home-ice advantage, a hurdle for a Carolina team that relies so much on matchups.
“It’s going to be a tough series,” Orlov said. “They have a good team; we have a good team. So who’s better? Who’s going to play their own system and try to get more comfortable, get more wins and sacrifice your body for your teammates?
“It’s gonna be fun.”
(Photo: James Guillory / Imagn Images)
This news was originally published on this post .
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