Hurricanes ready for home opener

After visiting Russia, Finland, Ottawa, Vancouver, San Jose, Los Angeles and Phoenix, the Carolina Hurricanes are glad to be back in Raleigh.

The 'Canes, who've traveled more than 15,000 miles since their last home preseason game 26 days ago, become the last of the NHL's 30 teams to play its home opener when the Washington Capitals come to the RBC Center Wednesday night for a 7 p.m. ET faceoff.

The Hurricanes return home with a 4-3-0 record after a 4-3 overtime victory in Phoenix on Saturday -- a game they won in OT after blowing a 3-0 lead in the final 15 minutes of regulation. The Capitals also are coming off an overtime victory; they beat Atlanta 4-3 at home on Saturday.

The Caps-Hurricanes game is one of six on the NHL schedule.

Also at 7, the Thrashers travel to Madison Square Garden for a game against the Rangers, who've been off for two days since beating New Jersey 3-1 on Sunday night.

Two more games start at 7:30. Montreal, a 3-2 overtime winner against Phoenix at home on Monday, hosts the New York Islanders in the start of a home-and-home series. The Isles have had three days off since losing 4-3 at Florida on Saturday. The game will be shown in HD on both TSN and RDS. The Pittsburgh Penguins, 1-0 losers in OT at St. Louis on Saturday, continue their road trip with a stop in Tampa Bay. The Lightning are coming off a 4-3 home loss to Nashville on Sunday.

Two of the top teams in the Western Conference meet at 8:30 p.m. when Chicago hosts Los Angeles. The Hawks blew a 2-0 lead and lost 3-2 to Columbus on Saturday, while the Kings continue a road trip after winning 6-4 at Colorado the same night.

The last game of the night is at 10:30 p.m., when New Jersey begins a three-game swing through California with a visit to San Jose. The Sharks are back home after a 4-0 loss at Calgary on Sunday. The NHL Network will show the game in HD in both Canada and the United States.