A packed weekend of Metro Division battles for the Carolina Hurricanes begins tonight. The Canes will face the Washington Capitals in our nation's capital. A big contest will start the weekend for Carolina as the Capitals are three points ahead of the Canes in the standings and trail the New Jersey Devils by one point for the division lead. However, the Devils have played four more games than Carolina and Washington.
Washington has been solid at home with a record of 9-4-2 while the Canes have struggled a bit this year on the road with a 7-6-1 record. Carolina has lost their last three road contests and has given up 15 goals in them.
Pyotr Kochetkov has not given up a goal in his last two starts with shutouts against the New York Islanders and Ottawa Senators. This will be a nice test on the road for the young Russian as he continues to take a stronghold of the crease as Frederik Andersen recovers from injury.
The Capitals are coming off two straight losses at the hands of the Dallas Stars and Chicago Blackhawks. Overall this has been an extremely successful season for Washington and they look to be getting their captain, Alex Ovechkin, back shortly from injury. Despite only playing 18 games, Ovechkin is still tied for goals with 15. Connor McMichael also has 15 goals along with 27 points.
Dylan Strome is having a breakout year, leading the team in points with 38. Aliaksei Protas is having a career season with 11 goals and 26 points. Fan favorite, Tom Wilson is having another strong season with 13 goals and 24 points. He also has 30 Penalty minutes, which is small for him.
On defense, John Carlson is still going strong, providing solid minutes for Washington while posting 23 points and succeeding on the man advantage. Newcomer, Jakob Chychrun is off to a good start with his new team, scoring 9 goals and 21 points. This was one of many strong moves this summer for the Capitals to strengthen the depth of their roster. Former Cane, Trevor van Riemsdyk continues to provide strong minutes for this team.
In goal, the Capitals made a change and acquired Logan Thompson. Both goalkeepers have been very strong this season, ultimately splitting the starts. Charlie Lindgren has played one less game than Thompson but has 9 wins and a 2.69 GAA. Thompson has 12 wins with a .911 save percentage and 2.48 GAA.
The Capitals will play a slower, checking game which has given the Hurricanes trouble this season. Simplifying their game and chipping pucks deep will be a good way to start the road game. This should allow the Canes' skill players to break through as they have far more than Washington.