Cardiac Cane
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Carolina Hurricanes: 3 Keys to Start a Season Opening Winning Streak

By Matthew Nidiffer

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 24: Carolina Hurricanes left wing Brock McGinn (23) celebrates his game winning goal during the Carolina Hurricanes defeat of the the Washington Capitals 4-3 in the 2nd overtime of game 7 of the the Stanley Cup eastern division quarter finals at 3 games each in Washington, DC on April 24, 2019 . (Photo by John McDonnell/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 24: Carolina Hurricanes left wing Brock McGinn (23) celebrates his game winning goal during the Carolina Hurricanes defeat of the the Washington Capitals 4-3 in the 2nd overtime of game 7 of the the Stanley Cup eastern division quarter finals at 3 games each in Washington, DC on April 24, 2019 . (Photo by John McDonnell/The Washington Post via Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 24: Carolina Hurricanes left wing Brock McGinn (23) celebrates his game winning goal during the Carolina Hurricanes defeat of the the Washington Capitals 4-3 in the 2nd overtime of game 7 of the the Stanley Cup eastern division quarter finals at 3 games each in Washington, DC on April 24, 2019 . (Photo by John McDonnell/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 24: Carolina Hurricanes left wing Brock McGinn (23) celebrates his game winning goal during the Carolina Hurricanes defeat of the the Washington Capitals 4-3 in the 2nd overtime of game 7 of the the Stanley Cup eastern division quarter finals at 3 games each in Washington, DC on April 24, 2019 . (Photo by John McDonnell/The Washington Post via Getty Images) /

The Carolina Hurricanes travel to Washington, D.C. tonight to take on the Washington Capitals in what is sure to be an intense matchup.

We’ve been here before. As the preseason (and Todd Reirden) has shown us, there is plenty of bad blood still brewing between these two teams. Being knocked out in the first round of the playoffs as the defending Stanley Cup Champions has a tendency to create some not-so-warm-and-fuzzy feelings on the losing side.

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Washington is currently riding a two-game winning streak after ousting the St. Louis Blues on October 2nd, and the New York Islanders on October 4th. Ilya Samsonov earned his first win of the season last night in the 2-1 victory over the Islanders, so we can expect to see Braden Holtby in net tonight for their 2nd game in the Caps’ first back-to-back of 2019-20, opposite James Reimer for the Carolina Hurricanes.

This season seems to be about vendettas, and most of them seem to revolve around the Carolina Hurricanes getting the better of other teams.

The Capitals and their coach have strong feelings about the Hurricanes and our coach, both for their early playoff exit and for mean words said during the preseason. The Canadiens are upset because the Hurricanes wouldn’t share Sebastian Aho.

Don Cherry, I’m sure, is still upset and screaming at a camera somewhere in Ontario because the Storm Surge made its triumphant return on October 3rd.

After an intense (understatement of the century, folks) season opener against the Montreal Canadiens earlier this week, the Carolina Hurricanes look to extend their record to 2-0-0 tonight in Washington. They’ll need to solve Braden Holtby early on, capitalize on every powerplay opportunity, and shut down the Capitals’ key offensive producers (looking at you, Ovi).

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