SKATE SHAVINGS - News and Notes from Caps' Morning Skate 12/27

The Caps and Canes met for the first time this season just under two weeks ago in Raleigh. After falling into a 4-1 hole in the second period of that game, Washington rallied for a 6-5 shootout victory.

"They're a dangerous offensive team that has a lot of young speed and talent," says Caps coach Todd Reirden of the Hurricanes. "They play a difficult, hard-checking game. They put a lot of pucks in good areas to go forecheck, and then I'd say their defensemen are very aggressive at pinching down on both sides to keep pucks alive."
Forechecking is a Carolina forte; the Canes lead the NHL with an average of 37.5 shots on goal per game and they've permitted the fewest shots against at just 27.9 shots per contest. Carolina has had 13 games with 40 or more shots on net this season, and they've exceeded 50 shots on net in three of those games, with a high of 57 on the season.
Washington limited the Canes to just 27 shots in 65 minutes of hockey in their previous meeting on Dec. 14, one of just five games in which Carolina has been limited to less than 30 shots on goal.
"It's a challenge and it's especially a challenge after a few days of layoff because they do a good job of taking away time and space from you as a player," says Reirden. "Things happen quickly after four days without skating, and they'll be happening quickly tonight, so it will be important that we try to get into the game as quick as possible tonight."

Captain Metro -Caps captain Alex Ovechkin has been voted as the captain of the Metropolitan Division All-Star team for next month's NHL All-Star Game. The midseason event will be held in San Jose this season, with the game itself being played on Jan. 26. Fans voted for Ovechkin and the other three divisional captains.
"I think the fans watch the games," says Ovechkin. "They want to see their favorite player over there. It's a pretty cool thing."
Ovechkin is one of four former first overall draft choices to be voted as divisional captains by the fans this season. Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon (2013), Edmonton's Connor McDavid (2015) and Toronto's Auston Matthews (2016) are the other three captains. Ovechkin was chose first overall in the 2004 NHL Draft, and he is more than a decade older than both Matthews and McDavid. The Caps' captain is 16 days shy of being a decade older than MacKinnon as well.
"He's a generational player," says Reirden of Ovechkin. "I talk about it all the time; we're so fortunate to have him here. I don't think anyone here takes him for granted, but it's just another reminder of how fortunate and how lucky we are to have someone like him to play in our area. It's awesome and well deserved by the fans, recognizing the year he's having. It's amazing that he's that much older than those players and he continues to get the respect that he does from the fans and they see the effort that he's been putting in, especially this year."
At the age of 33 and in his 14th NHL season, Ovechkin is leading the NHL with 29 goals in 35 games. Ovechkin also leads the NHL with 21 even-strength goals, five more than he had for the entirety of the 2016-17 season. Coming into Thursday's game against Carolina, Ovechkin has scored just one five-on-four power play goal in his last 21 games. He has scored a total of 17 goals in those last 21 contests.
"To be selected to the All-Star Game is a huge privilege," says Ovechkin. "It's always nice to be selected and to represent Washington over there."

Another Step Closer - Caps defenseman Brooks Orpik suffered a lower body injury two months ago today in Calgary, and he has been on the sidelines ever since. Orpik won't play tonight against the Hurricanes, but his return is getting closer and could happen before the calendar flips to 2019. He participated in Thursday's morning skate, doing so sans the light blue non-contact jersey he had been sporting prior to the holiday break.
"I think today was the next step, in terms of a morning skate without a non-contact jersey on," says Reirden of Orpik's ongoing progress. "Today was an amped up morning skate; we did two [more] extra drills than we normally do, that involved some contact and some more speed just to get a little bit more prepared to play tonight's game. So he is a step further along the line.
"[Friday] he will be able to have a full practice with us, and we'll see where that takes us going into [Saturday night's game at] Ottawa. I imagine that will be going through for sure the Ottawa morning skate again and then seeing how everything reacts, and getting ready for Nashville as a possibility, I think."
The Caps host Nashville on Monday afternoon in the final game of calendar 2018.
In The Nets - Braden Holtby gets the net for the Capitals tonight against Carolina, seeking his 15th victory of the season. Holtby's last start came last Friday night at home against the Buffalo Sabres, a game in which he made 36 saves to earn a 2-1 victory.
In his last 15 games, Holtby is 10-5-0 with a shutout, a 2.25 GAA and a .930 save pct. He has won four of his last five starts, and he allowed only two goals in his only loss over that span, a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 19.
Lifetime against the Hurricanes, Holtby is 13-6-0 with two shutouts, a 2.09 GAA and a .935 save pct.
When they last faced the Canes in Carolina on Dec. 14, the Caps caught the Hurricanes on the second night of a set of back-to-back games while veteran netminder Curtis McElhinney was still on injured reserve because of a lower body injury. Washington faced goalie Scott Darling that night, but with McElhinney now healthy, Darling has been returned to AHL Charlotte, and the Caps are likely to go up against McElhinney on Thursday. He has been the more effective of Carolina's tandem of McElhinney and Petr Mrazek this season.
Toiling for his seventh NHL team in Carolina, the 35-year-old McElhinney is 7-4-1 this season with 2.42 GAA and a .918 save pct. Lifetime against the Capitals, McElhinney is 1-4-0 with a 3.76 GAA and an .868 save pct.

All Lined Up - This is how we expect the Caps and the Hurricanes to look when they meet on Thursday night in Washington:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 19-Backstrom, 77-Oshie
13-Vrana, 92-Kuznetsov, 43-Wilson
65-Burakovsky, 20-Eller, 10-Connolly
18-Stephenson, 72-Boyd, 25-Smith-Pelly
Defensemen
6-Kempny, 74-Carlson
9-Orlov, 2-Niskanen
34-Siegenthaler, 22-Bowey
Goaltenders
70-Holtby
1-Copley
Injuries
29-Djoos (lower body)
44-Orpik (lower body)
Scratches
23-Jaskin
26-Dowd
78-Lewington
CAROLINA
Forwards
37-Svechnikov, 20-Aho, 86-Teravainen
79-Ferland, 64-Bishop, 14-Williams
13-Foegele, 71-Wallmark, 48-Martinook
59-Kuokkanen, 149-Rask, 23-McGinn
Defensemen
74-Slavin, 22-Pesce
44-de Haan, 27-Faulk
57-van Riemsdyk, 19-Hamilton
Goaltenders
35-McElhinney
34-Mrazek
Injuries
4-Fleury (concussion)
12-Staal (upper body)
Scratches
7-Di Giuseppe