Carolina Hurricanes Look for Early Christmas Gift Against the Washington Capitals
The Carolina Hurricanes look to build momentum and pick up a win over the Washington Capitals before the Christmas break.
Information
Carolina Hurricanes (13-15-2) vs. Washington Capitals (24-6-2)
Monday, December 21, 2015 – 7:00 pm (EST)
Raleigh, North Carolina – PNC Arena
TV/Radio – Fox Sports Carolinas/99.9 FM The Fan, WRALSportsFan.com
Projected Lineups
Carolina Hurricanes
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Washington Capitals
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Preview
Point getter in 6 of their last 8 games, the Carolina Hurricanes return to action for their last game before the holiday break.
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Monday night’s opponent will be the Metropolitan Division-leading Washington Capitals, a club that has been firing on all cylinders both on offense and defense.
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The Caps are coming off of a 7-3 blowout victory over the New York Rangers on Sunday. They posted 4 goals in the 2nd period, and former Hurricane Justin Williams netted 2 goals and an assist.
This Capitals teams doesn’t just excel offensively. They have the best team defense in the entire league, allowing just 2.2 goals per game. Both of their special teams units ranks in the top-6, with a 25% success rate when up a man, and an 83.9% success rate on the penalty kill.
Washington’s 3rd ranked offense hasn’t just been carried by all-star scorer Alex Ovechkin. He leads the team in points (29) and goals (16), but a total of 10 Capital players are in double digits in the points category, including the likes of Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Justin Williams, and defenseman John Carlson.
Coming off of a big contract extension, goalie Braden Holtby has proven that he was worth the big money. His 1.92 goals against average and .931 save percentage are among the best in the league, and his 20-4-1 record is indicative of just how well he and the rest of his team has played.
On the other side of things, the Carolina Hurricanes are experiencing success of their own. They are 5-2-1 over their last 8 games, and their recent powerplay success has been a big reason for that. They’ve seen they’re league-worst powerplay success rate climb to 15th in the league at 18.3%.
The continued domination from blue liner Justin Faulk has been the story of the season for the up and down Hurricanes. After picking up another assist in Saturday’s win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, Faulk now has 9 points in his last 9 games. He is on pace for 30 goals and 67 points this season.
Despite not cracking the score sheet at all over his last 2 outings, Jeff Skinner‘s numbers since the start of December are still remarkable. He has 9 goals and 10 points in 9 December games, emerging as one of the hottest offensive players in the NHL over that span. Saturday night was the first game all season in which Skinner failed to put a shot on net.
Cam Ward is likely to get the start against the Caps on Monday. Ward has broken out in his last pair of starts, stopping 53 of 55 shots over his last 2 starts. He got the loss against Florida on Friday, but the club bounced back and rewarded Ward for his efforts, picking up a 2-1 win over Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Next: How the J.Staal Trade Changed the Hurricanes
The Canes lost to the Capitals back on October 17 in the two clubs’ only meeting of the year thus far. The score was 4-1, and Jeff Skinner was the lone goal scorer for the then-offensive stagnant Canes. The Hurricanes got just 8 shots on net at even strength in the loss.
A win would give the Carolina Hurricanes 33 points in the standings and would put them just 1 win shy of a .500 record.