Washington @ Carolina preview
Lenovo Center
Last Meeting ( Dec 20, 2024 ) Carolina 1, Washington 3
The Carolina Hurricanes will look to cut into their gap with the Washington Capitals when the teams meet on Wednesday night in Raleigh, N.C.
The Hurricanes (45-24-4, 94 points) have won 11 of their last 13 games to move within 11 points of the Metropolitan Division-leading Capitals (48-17-9, 105 points).
Washington recorded a 4-3 win over the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night to move within one point of the Winnipeg Jets for first place overall in the NHL standings. The Hurricanes have been idle since posting a 6-4 victory over the New York Islanders on Sunday.
Capitals superstar captain Alex Ovechkin scored his 891st career goal Tuesday, moving within four of breaking Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky's NHL record. Ovechkin, who has a team-leading 38 goals in 58 games this season, shot wide at an empty net late in the game.
Ovechkin and Dylan Strome each had a goal and an assist, and Charlie Lindgren made 21 saves for the Capitals, who had lost three in a row (0-2-1).
"It was a big win in general," Lindgren said. "Obviously, the previous three games hadn't gone our way, so just to get back in the win column and get that taste of winning again, even though it was only three games, it still (stunk) and it was about time we turned it around. ... Overall, we'll take two points."
Washington forward Ryan Leonard, 20, was plus-1 in 14:14 of ice time while playing on a line with Strome and Aliaksei Protas in his NHL debut. The Capitals' top prospect, Leonard signed a three-year entry-level contract on Monday after his Boston College team was eliminated by Denver in the NCAA playoffs.
"Happy for him," Ovechkin said. "He played solid, physical, controlled the puck well, and he has a great future."
Washington defenseman Dylan McIlrath played 10:33 in his first NHL game action since Dec. 23 in Boston, stepping into the lineup to fill in for the absent Matt Roy (personal reasons).
Carolina's Seth Jarvis scored two goals in the win against the Islanders. Sebastian Aho had a goal and two assists, Logan Stankoven also scored, and Pyotr Kochetkov made 27 saves.
"You've got to find ways, whatever way you've got to do it," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "It wasn't the prettiest of games, but there were some really nice goals. It was kind of the good and the bad mixed in there."
Carolina's power-play unit has connected in each of the last four games.
"Always nice to score, but yeah as a unit you work (together) and you can tell that we have scored a few as of late," said Aho, whose power-play goal on Sunday was his first since March 1. "We were feeling the puck a little bit and making better plays. It's just (a matter of) having a little confidence there, so it's been good."
Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal, 36, missed the game with a lower-body injury and is expected to be held out of Wednesday's contest.
"It's not ideal, especially against the best team in the League," Brind'Amour said Wednesday after the morning skate. "That's a big matchup there. But we managed the other night, so we will give it another crack tonight."
Brind'Amour had said Tuesday that Staal's injury was "not overly serious" and explained that if a player is not 100 percent at this point of the season, he shouldn't play.
Staal has missed only two games this season. He has 12 goals, 33 points and a plus-13 rating in 71 games.
Lindgren made 24 saves to help Washington record a 3-1 win over Carolina on Dec. 20, and former Capital Dmitry Orlov had two goals to lead the Hurricanes over Washington 4-2 on Nov. 3. The teams' final meeting will be in Washington, D.C., on April 10.
--Field Level Media