One of the most memorable seasons in Washington Capitals history has come to an agent. Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals were eliminated from the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs with a second-round loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 5 on Thursday night.

Carolina awaits the winner of the other Eastern Conference semifinal series between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers.

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Eight teams remain in the Calder Cup Playoffs, which decide the championship of the American Hockey League. Hershey (Washington Capitals), one of those eight, has won back-to-back Calder Cup crowns and is bidding to become the first to win three straight Calder Cup titles since Springfield in 1960-62.

In the playoffs, NHL players do absolutely anything and everything they can to grind their opponents down: "It is a fine line."

Well, that “U.S. backup” has Dallas on the verge of its third consecutive trip to the Western Conference Final. Oettinger mostly has outplayed Hellebuyck throughout these NHL playoffs and in the second-round Western Conference series that the Stars lead 3-1 over the top-seeded Jets.