Capitals vs. Hurricanes Preview: March 28, 2019
On Tuesday night, John Carlson became the fifth Capitals Defenseman to score 400 points. with a goal in the second period.
The Washington Capitals travel to Raleigh to play the Hurricanes for the last time in the regular season. The race in the Metro Division is still anyone’s to win, as these teams look to compete even further into the playoffs. The Caps look for the sweep as the series ventures into playoff territory. Alex Ovechkin is chasing history. He is just one goal shy of his eighth fifty-goal season, with ample time to score another. Only Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy have more fifty-goal seasons at nine each.
The Capitals rest at 45-24-8 with 98 points. Though they still lead the Islanders by three points, both Montreal and Columbus won, meaning they have not clinched yet. They need a win today to have a chance still. Carolina’s record of 42-27-7 with 91 points is still impressive, enough to hold dominance over the first wild card. After losing to Washington just two days ago, the Hurricanes will be ready and able to fight. Everyone on the Caps needs to be in top form as they square off in the regular season finale.
The Capitals have won all three meetings this season. This includes a 3-1 contest on Tuesday in which Ovechkin scored his forty-ninth goal this season and T.J. Oshie scored his one hundredth point as a Capital. A record like this is promising as the teams seem destined to meet in the first round. Every game counts now, both for the Caps to gain distance in the division and the Canes to hold the wild card.
Starting Line for the Capitals:
Ovechkin-Backstrom-Wilson
Hagelin-Kuznetsov-Oshie
Vrana-Eller-Connolly
Burakovsky-Dowd-Boyd
Djoos-Carlson
Orlov-Niskanen
Orpik-Jensen
Braden Holtby is expected to be the staring goaltender.
Starting Line for the Hurricanes:
Niederreiter-Aho-Williams
Svechnikov-Staal-Teravainen
Ferland-Wallmark-Martinook
Foegele-McKegg-McGinn
Slavin-Hamilton
Pesce-Faulk
de Haan-van Riemsdyk
Petr Mrazek at goalie
