Hurricanes at Capitals
The Washington Capitals have ascended to the penthouse in the Metropolitan due in large part to their success at home while the Carolina Hurricanes are venturing toward the division's basement. Washington vies for its 11th straight victory at Capital One Arena on Thursday when it plays the opener of a home-and-home series against Carolina.
John Carlson has played an integral role in Washington's five-game winning streak, collecting two goals and five assists in that stretch after recording one of each in Tuesday's 3-1 victory versus Vancouver. The defenseman was held off the scoresheet in the Capitals' 5-4 overtime win over the Hurricanes on Jan. 2, but captain Alex Ovechkin stepped up by capping a two-goal performance with a tally 1:57 into the extra session. Cam Ward was on the wrong end of the three-time Hart Trophy winner's scoring outburst, as he has answered a sizzling 7-0-1 stretch in December by turning aside just 71 of 83 shots this month en route to a 1-2-1 mark with a 3.89 goals-against average. All told, Carolina has dropped four of five (1-3-1) on the heels of winning seven of its previous eight.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NHL Network, FS Southeast (Carolina), NBCS Washington
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (19-15-8): Sebastian Aho didn't look the worse for wear after exiting Saturday's contest against Boston with a leg injury, scoring his team-leading 14th goal in Tuesday's 5-4 loss to Tampa Bay to increase his point total to 11 (seven goals, four assists) in his last eight games. The 20-year-old has 34 points to reside one shy of the club lead held by fellow Finn Teuvo Teravainen, who had two assists against the Lightning to extend his point streak to four games (two goals, four assists). Prior to that stretch, Teravainen had been held off the scoresheet in seven of the previous 10 contests.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (27-13-3): Nicklas Backstrom continued his torrid stretch by setting up Carlson's late first-period goal to extend his point streak to four games (two goals, six assists) while giving him 27 assists, two shy of the defenseman for the team lead. The 30-year-old Backstrom also set up a pair of goals in the first encounter versus Carolina to increase his point total to 55 (14 goals, 41 assists) in 50 career matches with the team. Braden Holtby made 34 saves in the first meeting to continue his run of dominance versus the Hurricanes that sees him sport a 12-4-0 career mark with two shutouts, a 1.85 goals-against average and .943 save percentage.
OVERTIME
1. Ovechkin will be appearing in his seventh NHL All-Star Game, Holtby his third, and Carolina D Noah Hanifin will make his first appearance in the exhibition contest, the league announced Wednesday.
2. Hurricanes C Victor Rask tallied twice in the first encounter with the Capitals before being held off the scoresheet in the first three outings of the team's four-game road trip.
3. Washington has yielded at least one power-play goal in all three games this month after finishing December by thwarting all 12 short-handed situations over the final four contests.