Svechnikov breaks late tie as Hurricanes beat Capitals 3-1 to reach Eastern Conference final

WASHINGTON (AP) — Surviving the initial push of an opponent facing elimination, the Carolina Hurricanes scored first thanks to Jordan Staal. Riding the waves of the pressure the Washington Capitals put on them, they scored late to close out the series.

Andre Svechnikov scored the go-ahead goal with 1:59 left, and Carolina beat Washington 3-1 in Game 5 on Thursday night to move on to the Eastern Conference final for a second time in three years.

“We’ve been in playoffs in those kind of games for quite some time, and the guys trust our game and I think that’s the biggest thing,” said Staal, whose goal was his first of the playoffs. “When you believe in what you’re going to do, that it’s going to work out, it just becomes more calm and more consistent that, eventually, if we continue doing what we’re going, we’re going to win the game and it looks like the guys did that.”

The Hurricanes improved to 10-5 in potential close-out games in seven trips to the postseason with coach Rod Brind’Amour. They will face either Florida in a rematch of the 2023 East final or Toronto in a reminder of 2002, and the Panthers are up 3-2 with the chance to eliminate the Maple Leafs as soon as Friday night.

“We’ve already been in a conference final, and we know what’s going to happen there,” Svechnikov said. "It’s not going to be easy there and we’ll see who we’re going to play against, but this is the time for us to take a relaxed little bit and get ready for the next games.”

They're able to play more games thanks to Frederik Andersen stopping 18 of the 19 shots he faced, including a few from Alex Ovechkin and a Grade-A scoring chance by Pierre-Luc Dubois early in the third period when the score was tied. Then, after a give-and-go with Sean Walker, Svechnikov's shot got through Logan Thompson from a bad angle to put Carolina ahead.

Seth Jarvis sealed it with an empty-net goal with 26.1 seconds remaining.

The Capitals' season is over despite an unassisted goal by Beauvillier and some important saves from Thompson among his 18, though the two goals he allowed were not pretty.

“Credit to Freddie Andersen: I thought he was the better goalie this series," Thompson said. "I think I could have been better and made a couple saves in Raleigh and definitely tonight.”

Washington started strong, got a few quality scoring chances but could not get through tight-checking defense to prolong the series.

“It was tight out there,” coach Spencer Carbery said. “Liked a lot of what we did tonight. Just didn’t do enough of it.”

Carolina would have home-ice advantage against Florida and open on the road if it’s Toronto.

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Carolina Hurricanes center Seth Jarvis (24) celebrates his empty net goal with right wing Andrei Svechnikov (37) and center Sebastian Aho (20) in the third period of Game 5 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series against the Washington Capitals Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen, right, celebrates with defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere (4) and defenseman Sean Walker (26) after Game 5 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series against the Washington Capitals Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Carolina Hurricanes center Seth Jarvis (24) celebrates his empty net goal with right wing Andrei Svechnikov (37) in the third period of Game 5 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series against the Washington Capitals Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Carolina Hurricanes right wing Andrei Svechnikov (37) celebrates his goal with defenseman Sean Walker (26) and others in the third period of Game 5 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series against the Washington Capitals Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Carolina Hurricanes right wing Andrei Svechnikov (37) celebrates his goal as he skates to the bench in the third period of Game 5 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series against the Washington Capitals Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Carolina Hurricanes right wing Andrei Svechnikov (37) celebrates his goal with defenseman Sean Walker (26) in the third period of Game 5 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series against the Washington Capitals Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) skates with the puck in the first period of Game 5 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Carolina Hurricanes center Jordan Staal (11) celebrates his goal with teammates in the first period of Game 5 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series as Washington Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun (6) skates by Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Carolina Hurricanes left wing William Carrier (28) tries to get the puck past Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson (48) and defenseman Matt Roy (3) in the second period of Game 5 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Carolina Hurricanes left wing William Carrier (28) skates with the puck against Washington Capitals defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk (57) in the second period of Game 5 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere (4) shoots the puck in the second period of Game 5 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series against the Washington Capitals Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

HOUSTON (AP) — It was a rough major league debut for Houston top prospect Brice Matthews on Friday night.

But the Astros are confident that he'll learn from his first game to be better moving forward.

Batting eighth and playing second base, Matthews went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in a 7-3 loss to the Texas Rangers. He struck out in his first three at-bats before he was retired on a fly out in the ninth inning.

“I just want him to build from that last at-bat,” manager Joe Espada said. “He hit that ball hard. You could take a lot of positives from today. No. 1 I thought he handled himself really well, had confidence and he was asking the right questions in between at-bats, and also seeing how they're going to attack (him). There was a lot to learn from that first game.”

Matthews said he started to feel better at the plate after a couple of at-bats.

“I feel like as the night went on my at-bats got better, I got more comfortable out there,” he said. “And just seeing the fight and these guys they never quit, so it makes me wanna play even harder for them. So I’ll continue to do that.”

Matthews, an infielder rated as the organization’s top prospect by MLB.com, was hitting .283 with 12 doubles, five triples, 10 home runs and 39 RBIs in 73 games for Sugar Land this season. He has a .400 on-base percentage and a .476 slugging percentage. His team-leading 25 stolen bases rank fourth in the Pacific Coast League.

Matthews, who has primarily played second base this season, was taken 28th overall by the Astros in the 2023 amateur draft. He had a great June where he earned the organization’s minor league player of the month honors after hitting .306 with six doubles, three triples, four home runs and 16 RBIs in 25 games.

The 23-year-old hit for the cycle on May 10 against Sacramento when he went 4 for 6 with two RBIs.

Playing for the team he grew up rooting for was a dream come true for Matthews, who was born in Houston and attended high school in a nearby suburb.

“It was a whirlwind,” he said. “It was a lot of fun, just awesome atmosphere. Coming to these games as a kid, so to be on the other side of it and be able to play, it was a great feeling. We didn't get the job done today, but I'll cherish this moment forever.”

The move comes as the Astros placed outfielder Jake Meyers on the 10-day injured list with a right calf strain retroactive to Thursday. They also transferred INF/OF Zach Dezenzo to the 60-day injured list to make room for Matthews on the 40-man roster.

The injury to Meyers is another setback for the Astros, who were already without shortstop Jeremy Peña and slugger Yordan Alvarez because of injuries. Meyers has had a strong season and is hitting .308 with three homers and 21 RBIs.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

Houston Astros second baseman Brice Matthews (28) throws to first base for a double play after forcing out Texas Rangers' Wyatt Langford at second base during the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, July 11, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Kevin M. Cox)

Houston Astros second baseman Brice Matthews (28) stands ready during the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Friday, July 11, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Kevin M. Cox)

Houston Astros second baseman Brice Matthews (28) throws to first base for an out during the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Friday, July 11, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Kevin M. Cox)

Houston Astros' Brice Matthews takes his first Major League at bat during the second inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Friday, July 11, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Kevin M. Cox)