For the first time since April 11, the Carolina Hurricanes will hit the ice against another NHL team, and tonight, it will be against the Metropolitan Division rival Washington Capitals in D.C.
Just a day ago, the Hurricanes cut eight players from their 57-man training camp roster. All of those players have been reassigned to their respective junior clubs.
The 49 remaining players have since divided into two separate groups. One group will play tonight in Washington, and the remaining players will play on Tuesday night in Pittsburgh.
Instead of giving a projected lineup, which would be pretty difficult to do accurately, here is the list of players who will be suiting up for the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals this evening.
Carolina Hurricanes Forwards
Jordan Staal, Eric Staal, Andrej Nestrasil, Jay McClement, Zach Boychuk, Brad Malone, Chris Terry, Kris Versteeg, Derek Ryan, Phil Di Giuseppe, Brody Sutter, Sergey Tolchinsky, and Carter Sandlack
Carolina Hurricanes Defensemen
Haydn Fleury, Noah Hanifin, Ryan Murphy, Danny Biega, Keegan Lowe, Brett Pesce, and Ron Hainsey
Carolina Hurricanes Goalies
The Canes are set to go very young on the blue line. Three of the seven defensemen coming to Washington have not played in a single NHL regular season game. Then, out of the other four players, only two of them have played over 10. Ron Hainsey will bring the veteran presence to the blue line, and Ryan Murphy has 89 games of NHL experience to his name.
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Up front, expect a first line of Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, and Kris Versteeg to see plenty of time in all situations. Bill Peters has already said that those three will form his first line against the Capitals.
Outside of the first line, youngsters Phil Di Giuseppe and Sergey Tolchinky will likely steal the show up front. All eyes will be on Tolchinsky to see if he can bring high-level offense against professional hockey players. Washington’s blue line feature a lot of NHL talent.
A starter has yet to be named by Bill Peters, but I would bet on Eddie Lack getting the starting job in game one. He is the team’s newest goalie addition, and he is expected to make a run for the starting job full-time.
Washington Capitals Forwards
Alex Ovechkin, Derek Roy, Jakub Vrana, Brooks Laich, Riley Barber, Jason Chimera, Tom Wilson, Carter Camper, Stanislav Galiev, Sean Collins, Andre Burakovsky, T.J. Oshie, and Evgeny Kuznetsov
Washington Capitals Defensemen
Matt Niskanen, Dmitry Orlov, Ryan Stanton, Karl Alzner, Christian Djoos, Aaron Ness, and Connor Carrick
Washington Capitals Goalies
A young defensive core from Carolina will have their hands full against superstar Alex Ovechkin on Monday night. The Russian winger will challenge the likes of Haydn Fleury and Noah Hanifin with his speed, size, and elite hands and shot.
Carolina Hurricanes
2014 1st round pick Jakub Vrana will have a lot to prove this preseason as he looks to make the jump to the NHL as a 19-year-old. T.J. Oshie is a new acquisition for the Caps, and he will likely see a lot of time with the aforementioned Ovechkin on the club’s top forward line.
Washington will ice a good mix of veterans and young players on the blue line. Matt Niskanen and Karl Alzner both have a wealth of NHL experience, meanwhile, Christian Djoos, Aaron Ness, and Connor Carrick have little to no time played at the NHL level.
Again, no starter has been confirmed for the Washington Capitals for Monday night. Former Hurricanes backup Dan Ellis will be in the mix along with new big-money goalie Braden Holtby. If I were to guess, I would say Ellis gets the net for the Caps while Holtby watches from the bench.
The game will have a 7:00 pm EST start time on Monday from the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The game will not be televised locally, but NHL Network will be carrying the game in the United States.
This will be game one of six on the Carolina Hurricanes’ preseason schedule, and it will come against one of the league’s best offensive players. It will be a challenge for the young roster that the Canes will sport, but it will also be a good learning experience for the club as they look to start off the 2015 preseason with a big win.
Next: Hurricanes Cut Eight Players from Training Camp Roster