Photo: Geoff Burke/USA Today
The Washington Capitals clash with the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night (7 PM ET, Monumental Sports Network locally, NHL Network nationally) for the first of two meetings between the two Metropolitan Division rivals in a span of exactly two weeks and third of four overall this season. After Washington took the first by a score of 2-1 in a shootout at PNC Arena on December 17, Carolina erupted for six unanswered goals to win the second matchup, 6-2, on January 5. 2018 Stanley Cup Champion center Evgeny Kuznetsov is expected to make his return to Capital One Arena for the first time since the Capitals traded him exactly two weeks ago.
In 723 games with Washington from 2014-24, Kuznetsov notched 171 goals and 568 points. He has also earned 29 goals and 67 points in 87 career postseason outings, including when he led the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs with 32 points (including 12 goals) in 24 games. The 31-year-old has two goals and five points in eight outings with his new team but had a four-game point-streak snapped on Thursday.
Schedule
Carolina: concludes set of back-to-backs following a 3-2 overtime win over Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, play fifth game of a span where they go on the road for six of nine
Washington: continues four-game homestand after opening it with a 7-3 loss to Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday
How Each Team Is Doing
Carolina: has won five straight, eight of their last nine, and is an NHL-best 30-8-5 (.756 points percentage) since losing all four games in regulation in a Western Canadian road trip during the first week of December
Washington: had won three in a row before losing to Toronto, is 11-6-2 since a season-long six-game losing streak ended
Standings
Carolina: 44-20-6 (.671 points percentage — second in Metropolitan Division, fourth in Eastern Conference); two points behind New York Rangers (with each team having played 70 games) for first place in division and 15 ahead of Philadelphia Flyers (70) for second
Washington: 33-26-9 (.551 points percentage — fourth in Metropolitan Division, ninth in Eastern Conference); three points back of Detroit Red Wings (with two games in hand) for second wild-card spot, seven behind Tampa Bay Lightning (one) for the first, four back of Philadelphia (two) for third place in Metropolitan Division; two points ahead of New York Islanders (one), three in front of New Jersey Devils (two), four ahead of Buffalo Sabres (three), six clear of Pittsburgh Penguins (with both teams having played 68 games) in wild-card standings
Team Leaders
Aho has at least 16 more points than any other Hurricane and is tied for 17th overall in points and tied for 19th in assists. They have nine players (LW Jake Guentzel: 60, RW Seth Jarvis: 56, C Martin Necas: 49, LW Teuvo Teraivanen: 47, RW Andrei Svechnikov: 45, D Brady Skjei: 39, Burns: 37, RW Stefan Noesen: 33). Burns, Skjei (21:18), and defenseman Jaccob Slavin (21:00) all average at least 21 minutes per game.
Ovechkin has five goals during a three-game goal-scoring streak, including consecutive two-goal outings.
Team Statistics
Carolina ranks eighth in goals, fourth in goals-against and on the power play, second on the penalty kill (and is just .3% off from the league leaders), fifth in shots, first in shots-against, and tied for sixth in faceoff-winning percentage.
Carolina also leads the league in Corsi and scoring chances in addition to trailing only the Edmonton Oilers in expected goals. However, Washington has the better shooting percentage.
Expected Goalie Matchup
Both goaltenders have similar statistics, though to a lesser extent in goals-against average.
Injuries/Illnesses/Suspensions
Carolina
- Teravainen (upper-body)
- RW Jesper Fast (upper-body)
- C Jack Drury (lower-body)
Washington
- C Nicklas Backstrom (hip)
- RW T.J. Oshie (upper-body)
- C Aliaksei Protas (lower-body)
- RW Tom Wilson (suspended)
Projected Lines
Carolina
Guentzel — Aho — Jarvis
Svechnikov — Kuznetsov — Necas
Jordan Martinook — Jordan Staal — Noesen
Brendan Lemieux — Jesperi Kotkaniemi — Tony DeAngelo
Slavin — Burns
Skjei — Brett Pesce
Dmitry Orlov — Jalen Chatfield
Kochetkov
Frederik Andersen
Scratched: G Spencer Martin
Washington
Ovechkin — Connor McMichael — T.J. Oshie
Ivan Miroshnichenko — Strome — Aliaksei Protas
Max Pacioretty — Hendrix Lapierre — Sonny Milano
Beck Malenstyn — Nic Dowd — Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Martin Fehervary — Carlson
Rasmus Sandin — Nick Jensen
Alexander Alexeyev — Trevor Van Riemsdyk
Lindgren
Darcy Kuemper
Scratched: C Michael Sgarbossa, D Ethan Bear
Betting Odds (BetMGM)
Carolina: -200, Washington: +165
Over-under: 6 (-110 over/under)
By Harrison Brown
