Washington @ Carolina preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 15, 2019 ) Washington 0, Carolina 5

The Carolina Hurricanes picked themselves off the mat after losing their first two playoff games in a decade and seeing their prized rookie knocked out to register a decisive victory against the Washington Capitals. With two full days off to recover from the fireworks, the Hurricanes aim to even their Eastern Conference first-round series in Game 4 on Thursday when the Metropolitan Division rivals reconvene in Raleigh, N.C.

"We needed the two days, though," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour told the Raleigh News & Observer. "Part of you says it would be great to go right back at it and play. But there was a huge emotional investment in that game for our guys." Rookie Warren Foegele collected two goals and an assist, defenseman Dougie Hamilton tallied twice and Petr Mrazek made 18 saves as the Hurricanes posted a 5-0 win on Monday in their first home playoff game since 2009. The setback snapped Washington's six-game playoff winning streak dating back to last year's Stanley Cup Final versus Vegas as well as its 6-0-0 mark against Carolina in the regular season and playoffs. "We just stopped playing. We can't play like that if we want to win. We're better than that," said superstar captain Alex Ovechkin, whose first postseason fight ended with Hurricanes rookie Andrei Svechnikov knocked out on the ice.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, Sportsnet, TVAS, NBCS Washington, FS Carolinas

ABOUT THE CAPITALS: Washington coach Todd Reirden tinkered with his lines in Wednesday's practice, elevating T.J. Oshie to the top unit with Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom while rugged forward Tom Wilson joined Jakub Vrana and Evgeny Kutznetsov on the second. "We're a team that's together and I expect that will be part of our response," Reirden said on the heels of the lopsided loss. Former Vezina Trophy recipient Braden Holtby looks to respond from a tough stretch in which he has surrendered eight goals in his last five periods, a staggering occurence considering he had won his previous seven encounters with Carolina before Monday's setback.

ABOUT THE HURRICANES: Svechnikov was enjoying the sterling start to the series with two goals and an assist before finding himself on the wrong end of a few right hands from Ovechkin. "We're going to be real careful. We're certainly not going to rush him back," Brind'Amour said of the 19-year-old Russian, who is expected to sit out Game 4 after being placed in concussion protocol following his release from the hospital. Brind'Amour told reporters on Wednesday that Micheal Ferland is "still a ways away" from returning to action after aggravating an upper-body injury in the first period of Game 3.

OVERTIME

1. Washington is 0-for-10 in the power play since Ovechkin scored with 1:55 remaining in the first period of Game 1.

2. Carolina has scored on three of its last 10 opportunities with the man advantage in the last two contests.

3. The Hurricanes recalled Patrick Brown from Charlotte of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis while fellow F Saku Maenanlanen is expected to return to the lineup.

PREDICTION: Capitals 3, Hurricanes 2