Caps Take on Canes in Carolina
Caps finish two-game Metro trip and set of back-to-backs on Friday night in Raleigh
By
Mike Vogel
WashingtonCaps.com
The Capitals conclude a set of back-to-back games on Friday night in Raleigh when they take on the Carolina Hurricanes for the third of four times this season. The two teams will meet again in Washington on March 28 when they close out their season's series against one another. Both teams played on the road Thursday night and had to travel afterward.
While Carolina found itself on the short end of a 3-2 decision with the Maple Leafs in Toronto, the Caps were in Columbus where they handed the Blue Jackets a one-sided 7-2 setback. Washington scored twice in the first period and got some key early saves from Vitek Vanecek. From there, the Caps maintained at least a two-goal cushion the rest of the way. The offensive outburst matches Washington's biggest night of the season to date, a 7-5 win over the Senators in Ottawa on Oct. 25.
"I think we got enough good breaks tonight, but I think we were overwhelming them for the most part," says Caps right wing Tom Wilson. "We got a couple bounces here and there, but we played a good game. We smothered them and I don't think they had much, so that's when the breaks start going your way."
Vanecek made 39 saves to earn his sixth straight victory, a career high. With Wednesday's win, the Caps are 6-0-1 in their last seven games. Washington will be seeking its fourth straight win on Friday night in Carolina, which would match their longest winning run of the season, achieved previously from Nov. 8-14.
Washington never trailed in Wednesday's win, taking an early 2-0 lead on a pair of Anthony Mantha goals in the first period, and maintaining at least a two-goal cushion the rest of the way. It was a refreshing change, after the Caps needed to dig their way out of third-period deficits to earn points in each of their previous four games.
"It's a different game when you're playing ahead," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette. "It was nice, too, when [Columbus] scored that goal less than four minutes into the third. Now the game is back in question again, so to get the fifth one right away and get right back at it and get that three-goal lead back was important.
"It's way better than playing from behind. Playing from behind, you're expending energy, you're chasing the game, you have to be stressed in the system with what you're trying to do, because you're pushing for a goal. So it's nice to play with the lead. We haven't had a lot of that lately."
The Caps pulled three of a possible four points on a set of road back-to-backs in Western Canada last week, and they'll take aim on four points in this week's set of back-to-backs on Friday in Carolina.
"At this time of year, you take them one night and one game at a time," says Caps right wing Tom Wilson. "This one was really big, in a divisional game, and then there's another one tomorrow. So we'll enjoy this one tonight, get ready, get rested and refocus on one of the top teams in the league for tomorrow, and a tough building to play in on a back-to-back. We've got to be ready for it, and there'll be no excuses. They're playing [Thursday night], too. So we've got to show up."
Carolina will be seeking to avoid a third straight setback in regulation on Friday against the Caps. Prior to Thursday's loss to the Leafs, the Canes fell 4-2 to the Penguins in Pittsburgh on Sunday. Only once all season have the Hurricanes suffered three straight setbacks in regulation, and that was from Nov. 28-Dec. 2. The first of those three losses came in a 4-2 loss to Washington on the Caps' previous trip into town.
Even with the two consecutive losses, the Canes are 9-3-1 in their last 13 games. Carolina leads second-place Pittsburgh by four points in the Metropolitan Division standings, and it holds two games in hand on the Penguins. With 87 points on the season, the Canes are a point back of Florida in the battle for Eastern Conference supremacy, and they trail Colorado by four points in the chase for the Presidents' Trophy.
