In an important division rivalry, the Carolina Hurricanes journey to face the red-hot Washington Capitals on Thursday.
The Hurricanes are 4-2-0 of their final six video games and sit a degree behind the Capitals within the standings. A victory Thursday would transfer Carolina forward of Washington for first place in each the Metropolitan Division and the Jap Convention.
“It is a good check for us,” Washington coach Spencer Carbery stated of dealing with the Hurricanes. “We all know how good they have been, all of the issues they do at a extremely excessive stage, how they make it troublesome on you, and it must be a very good check for us at house.”
Washington has risen to first place throughout its greatest stretch of hockey all season. The Capitals are on an eight-game (7-0-1) level streak and are 10-1-1 of their final 12 video games. They may even have John Carlson return to the lineup in opposition to Carolina. The defenseman has missed the final three video games with an upper-body harm, however Carbery stated he was a risk to play Thursday.
Poor special-teams play has been the weak hyperlink for the Capitals this season, however the penalty-kill unit is beginning to spherical into type. Washington is 14-for-15 on kills over its final 4 video games, together with a essential four-minute kill in the course of the third interval of Sunday’s 2-0 shutout of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
“Generally you undergo ebbs and flows along with your particular groups … and also you type of hit a little bit of a reset button,” Carbery stated after Sunday’s recreation. “You begin to break down and be sure that the communication is obvious, the reads are clear, everyone understands very concretely the place they have to be and what they should do.”
The Hurricanes are additionally coming off a victory over Columbus, as Carolina scored 4 unanswered targets in Tuesday’s 4-1 win over the Jackets. Ten totally different Hurricanes contributed a minimum of one level within the comeback effort.
“We bought behind, however we simply saved enjoying,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour stated. “Everybody contributed tonight. … You possibly can go down the record; everyone made some form of play. That is the way you draw it up.”
Seth Jarvis scored his team-leading seventeenth objective Tuesday, whereas Shayne Gostisbehere tallied his team-leading nineteenth help. Gostisbehere has 4 factors (all assists) throughout a four-game factors streak.
Sebastian Aho leads the Hurricanes with 26 factors (9 targets, 17 assists). Tom Wilson leads the Capitals with 32 factors (17 targets, 15 assists).
A lower-body harm has sidelined Jaccob Slavin for the reason that Hurricanes’ second recreation of the season, however the defenseman has been participating in restricted follow and could also be nearing a return.
Hurricanes ahead Jesperi Kotkaniemi (lower-body harm) is questionable for Thursday after lacking Tuesday’s recreation.
Pyotr Kochetkov is anticipated to start out on Thursday because the Hurricanes will doubtless depend on their first-choice goalie for such an necessary division recreation. Kochetkov has carried out nicely when wholesome however has solely appeared in six video games attributable to two separate lower-body accidents.
If Carolina needs to experience the recent hand, rookie goaltender Brandon Bussi has been a standout amid Kochetkov’s accidents and Frederik Andersen’s struggles. Bussi stopped 23 of 24 Blue Jackets photographs Tuesday, enhancing to 9-1-0 with a 2.09 goals-against common and a .909 save proportion in his first 10 NHL begins.
Coming off his 39-save shutout of the Blue Jackets, Logan Thompson will doubtless begin once more in Washington’s web. Thompson has been sensible this season, posting a 13-6-2 document with a 1.96 GAA and .925 save proportion.
Within the two groups’ first assembly this season, the Capitals earned a 4-1 win on Nov. 11 in Raleigh, N.C.
–Subject Degree Media
