Capitals at Hurricanes
The Washington Capitals look to end their recent struggles when they begin a three-game road trip against the Metropolitan Division-rival Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday. Washington suffered its second consecutive loss and fourth in five contests with a 4-3 setback to Vancouver on Tuesday. "Am I happy where we are? No, not at all," Capitals coach Barry Trotz said, according to CSNWashington.com. "I think we're better than we've shown, but we're not as good as we think we are."
Washington has been good in Carolina, winning four straight and eight of its last 10 visits to PNC Arena. The Hurricanes halted a three-game home losing streak on Tuesday with a 2-1 victory over Nashville. Jeff Skinner recorded a goal and an assist and Victor Rask also tallied to extend his point streak to three contests as Carolina improved to 1-1-0 on its five-game homestand.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN DC (Washington), FSN Carolinas
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (10-10-4): Nicklas Backstrom scored in overtime to pace Washington to a 4-3 victory over Carolina on Nov. 8 and has collected 46 points (12 goals, 34 assists) in 38 meetings with the Hurricanes. The 27-year-old Swede set up a tally against the Canucks to extend his point streak to six games (one goal, eight assists) and leads the team in both points (25) and assists (20). Speaking of points, Joel Ward recorded his 100th with the Capitals with an assist versus Vancouver and needs one more for his 200th of his career.
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (8-13-3): Cam Ward is expected to get the nod in net against Washington despite sitting out Wednesday's practice due to soreness. Ward has answered a three-start losing streak by winning his last two contests - yielding just three goals on 55 shots in the process. The veteran goaltender may see Andrej Sekera in the lineup as the defenseman is deemed questionable after suffering a lower-body injury while blocking a last-second shot versus the Predators.
OVERTIME
1. Washington captain Alex Ovechkin has collected 71 points (27 goals, 44 assists) in 58 career meetings with Carolina.
2. The Hurricanes have killed off all 10 short-handed situations in their last five contests and 19-of-20 over the last 10.
3. Capitals D Mike Green is expected to miss his fifth consecutive game with an upper-body injury.