Carolina Hurricanes vs Washington Capitals: Preseason Preview, Rosters, How to Watch

Carolina Hurricanes vs Washington Capitals
October 7, 2016 - 7:30 pm
PNC Arena - Raleigh, North Carolina
NHL Network-US, CSN-DC | WRALSportsFan web and app
SB Nation Rivals - Japers’ Rink

Game Notes

• Fresh off cutting their training camp roster to 32, the Hurricanes are narrowing in on what will be their opening night roster. Among the players cut were 2016 first-round draft picks Julien Gauthier and Jake Bean, goalie Alex Nedeljkovic and forwards Andrew Poturalski and Valentin Zykov.
• Another notable roster cut was Raffi Torres, who was released from his professional tryout contract on Thursday. He played minimal minutes in preseason action.
• Injured players Tyler Ganly (D) and Andrew Miller (LW) have stuck around through the most recent round of cuts. Their respective injuries are surely the reason why they have hung around for so long.
• Among those still fighting for NHL jobs are young defensemen Roland McKeown, Haydn Fleury and Trevor Carrick.
• Friday night’s tilt is expected to be an opening night preview of sorts for the Hurricanes as they look to hit the ground running next week in Winnipeg. All NHL regulars, plus border guys like McKeown, Fleury, Sergey Tolchinsky and Patrick Brown should all be fair game in the preseason finale.
• Eddie Lack got the nod on Wednesday night against the Sabres, which likely opens the door for Cam Ward to start against the Caps on Friday night.
• The Caps defeated the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night on the back of T.J. Oshie and Christian Thomas, who both found the back of the net twice. Washington has posted a 3-1-1 record through five preseason games.
• The Hurricanes defeated the Capitals 2-1 in overtime in the clubs’ first preseason tilt back on September 26. Justin Faulk netted a powerplay goal in the extra frame to give Carolina the win.
• A win on Friday would give the ‘Canes a preseason record of 4-2-1. They’ll finish at NHL .500 with a regulation loss.
• Friday night’s Metropolitan Division matchup will be aired nationally on NHL Network in the United States and regionally in D.C. on CSN-DC.

Projected Rosters

Lines for the Hurricanes should be announced after the team’s morning skate at the PNC Arena on Friday.

Washington has another preseason game on Sunday against the New York Islanders, so they could very well take a different approach to Friday’s game. All of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Oshie, Karl Alzner, Matt Niskanen, John Carlson and Braden Holtby skated in their win on Wednesday, so expect several of those players to sit out on Friday.

Here is the provisional roster, with a few of these players likely to sit out as scratches: