Game Day Canes at Caps

Carolina Hurricanes at Washington Capitals
March 31, 2015 - 7:00 pm ET
Verizon Center - Washington, DC
TV - Fox Sports Carolinas
Radio - 99.9 FM The Fan
SB Nation Rival Blog - Japers' Rink

Fancy Stats

Stats via NHL.com and War on Ice

Game Notes

• After playing five straight games in front of their home crowd, the Hurricanes hit the road for two games, with their first stop in the nation's capital tonight to face the Capitals for the fourth and final time this season. The season series sits at 1-1-1 for the Canes with a 4-3 overtime loss in DC on November 8th, a 2-1 loss in Raleigh on December 4th, and a 3-0 shutout win at home on February 27th.
• Both teams played back-to-back games over the weekend. The Canes defeated the Devils 3-1 on Saturday and lost 2-1 in overtime to the Bruins Sunday. The Caps lost 4-3 to Nashville on Saturday at Verizon and won 5-2 against the Rangers on Sunday at MSG.
• The last time the Canes and Caps played against each other, it was the day before the two teams made a trade that sent defenseman Tim Gleason to the Capitals in exchange for Jack Hillen and a 2015 fourth round draft pick. Gleason has played in eleven games for the Caps, logging one assist and averaging 15:12 in ice time. Hillen only played in three games for the Canes before suffering a concussion, and there is no update in terms of a timetable for his return to the line-up.
• Justin Faulk currently leads the team in assists (32, three of them against the Capitals) and is second in points (47), which is the franchise single-season record for points by a defenseman. He is one goal away from breaking Anton Babchuk's single season record for goals by a defenseman (16 in 2008-09). He also leads the team in total time on ice and TOI per game. Faulk is able to accomplish all of these things despite the fact that he frequently looks like a serial killer.
• Riley Nash did not travel with the team after taking a hit in the head from a puck during warmups on Sunday. His status is day-to-day and no further information has been made available yet.
• The Canes continue to rank best in the league in penalty minutes per game (6.9) and are third on the penalty kill (85.2%), which may come in handy tonight as they face the league's best power play (24.4%).
• Noted Canes killers Alex Ovechkin (71 points in 60 career games against the Canes) and Nicklas Backstrom (46 points in 40 games) are leading the NHL in goals and assists, respectively. With 49 goals, Ovechkin is one goal away from his sixth 50-goal season and two goals shy of passing Peter Bondra (472) for first place in Capitals franchise goal scoring.
• Between the pipes, Braden Holtby (aka 'Holtbeast') is ranked first in starts (66), second in shots against (1868), and third in wins (37), saves (1725), and shutouts (8). He is 6-4-0 with a 2.08 GAA and one shutout in 10 career games against the Canes.
• Neither team practiced yesterday so line-ups are from Sunday's games; stay tuned for more information after the teams wrap up their morning skates.

Projected line-ups

Hurricanes (from Sunday's game)

Injuries and Scratches: Jack Hillen (concussion), Rasmus Rissanen (MCL), Riley Nash (upper body), Michal Jordan

Capitals (from Sunday's game):

Injuries and Scratches: John Erskine (neck), Dmitry Orlov (wrist), Jay Beagle (upper body)