Hurricanes at Capitals
THE STORY: The Washington Capitals are an easy pick for a strong regular season. They just have some trouble in the playoffs. Lucky for Alex Ovechkin and company, the playoffs won’t come around for another six months. Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom are both coming off their least productive seasons as the Capitals switched to a more defensive system in 2010-11 in the hope that it would lead them to postseason glory. Now they need some more scoring. The Carolina Hurricanes rest their playoff hopes squarely on the shoulders of goaltender Cam Ward, who had some trouble under that pressure in the season opener. Ward will be looking to shake off a five-goal performance when the Hurricanes visit Washington on Saturday night.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSCR (Carolina), CSW (Washington)
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (0-1-0): After coming up one win short of the playoffs in a season-ending loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina was hoping for a little revenge to open the 2011-12 campaign. No such luck, as the Lightning pounded the Hurricanes, 5-1. Jeff Skinner, trying to avoid a sophomore slump after winning the Calder Trophy, scored the lone goal. Ward made 29 saves but will need some more support from a young defense.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS: Washington did not make any major changes in the offseason, preferring to tweak a roster that has been so productive during the regular season. Goaltender Michal Neuvirth is the undisputed starter after a solid 2010-11 campaign but could get less help as the team opens the offense a tad more.
OVERTIME:
1. Washington won five of the six meetings last season, though only the first matchup ended with more than a one-goal spread.
2. Ovechkin has dominated the Hurricanes in the past, piling up 55 points in 41 games.
3. Carolina defenseman Tim Gleason has 57 penalty minutes in 30 career games against Washington.