Washington Capitals (18-9-3 39pts) v. Carolina Hurricanes (13-13-4 30pts)
Time: 730p EST
Station: NBC Sports Washington and Fox Sports Carolina
Preview:
The Washington Capitals embark on a trip down to Carolina to kick of their weekend back to back series as they take on the Hurricanes. The Capitals will look to continue their winning ways, while the Hurricanes will be playing in their second game of their back to back.
Washington Capitals:
Projected Lineup:
Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — TJ Oshie
Jakub Vrana — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Brett Connolly
Chandler Stephenson — Lars Eller — Devante Smith-Pelly
Travis Boyd — Nic Dowd — Dmitrij Jaskin
Michal Kempny — John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen
Christian Djoos — Madison Bowey
Braden Holtby
Pheonix Copley
Scratched: Jonas Siegenthaler, Andre Burakovsky
Injured: Tom Wilson (concussion), Brooks Orpik (knee surgery)
Keys to the Game:
1. Mind the rough stuff
The Hurricanes are a very competitive team. Always have, always will. The Capitals will need to bring their A game to Carolina and play a very competitive game against the Hurricanes.
2. Keep up the Defensive play
The Capitals have demonstrated these last couple of games that they have can shut down teams in the neutral zone and clog up the passing lanes. They will need to continue that against the Hurricanes.
Carolina Hurricanes:
Projected Lineup:
Jordan Martinook — Sebastian Aho — Teuvo Teravainen
Janne Kuokkanen — Victor Rask — Brock McGinn
Andrei Svechnikov — Lucas Wallmark — Justin Williams
Warren Foegele — Clark Bishop — Phillip Di Giuseppe
Jaccob Slavin — Brett Pesce
Calvin de Haan — Justin Faulk
Haydn Fleury — Dougie Hamilton
Petr Mrazek
Scott Darling
Scratched: Trevor van Riemsdyk
Injured: Jordan Staal (concussion), Curtis McElhinney (lower body), Micheal Ferland (upper body)
Keys to the Game:
1. Control the tempo
The Hurricanes will be playing in their second game of their back to back, and one thing they will want to do is control the tempo of the game to help them stay fresh throughout the game.
