Hurricanes And Hand Grenades - The Caps conclude their four-game season's series with the Carolina Hurricanes tonight, facing the Canes in the second game of a leisurely four-game homestand that plays out over the course of a dozen days. Tonight also marks Washington's final game of the month of March, which is the team's best month of the season (.792 points pct.) since October (.813).
SKATE SHAVINGS - News and Notes From Caps Morning Skate
Monday's match is the Caps' third game in four nights, and Carolina is also in the midst of a three-in-four stretch, all on the road. After spanking the Blues by a 7-2 count in St. Louis on Saturday night, the Hurricanes are here in D.C. tonight, and they'll finish up the run in Tampa, where they take on the Lightning on Tuesday.
Each of the three previous meetings between these two teams have been hotly contested and physical games, and the Caps have two players - center Nic Dowd and defensemen Trevor van Riemsdyk - who were injured in the previous contest between the two clubs on March 18. Both players are day-to-day with upper body ailments, and neither has played since then.
For their part, the Canes have had discipline handed down to them from the NHL in the wake of each of their last two home games against the Caps. Following the Nov. 28 Sunday matinee between the two teams in Raleigh, Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour was fined $25,000 for "inappropriate conduct." And after that March 18 game in Carolina, Hurricanes forward Nino Niederreiter was suspended for one game for issuing a two-handed slash to the head of Caps forward Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, who wasn't even on the ice when the slash took place. Jonsson-Fjallby was seated on the Washington bench and was quietly minding his own business when Niederreiter hacked the face shield of the Washington winger's helmet.
Expect more rising temperatures on both sides tonight as the Canes try to salvage something from the season's series while Washington looks to finish up March on a high note. The Caps are dark for five days after this one, so they'll want to be fully dialed in for tonight's tilt. They don't want to have to sit with a bad beat between tonight and their next game, which isn't until Sunday when Minnesota visits.
"We know we've got a little bit of a break here coming up after this game," says Caps defenseman Justin Schultz. "So [it's about] not leaving anything out there and giving it our all. This is a big game, a big division game, and it would be nice to have this one."
To their credit, the Caps didn't get caught looking ahead to Carolina. They were able to sweep a pair of Friday-Saturday back-to-backs in Buffalo and at home against New Jersey, respectively. Those wins followed a pair of home losses here last week, and those wins came with several players still missing from the Washington lineup.
At Monday's morning skate, Dowd took line rushes, a sign that he would man the middle of the team's fourth line tonight while Lars Eller would slide to the left side of a line with Connor McMichael in the middle. But Dowd also stayed out late and skated with the scratches and other ailing players, an indication that he is not likely to return tonight.
It might be more sensible to have Dowd, van Riemsdyk and newly acquired forward Johan Larsson wait another game before returning, given the five-day break between games after tonight.
Sparks Will Fly - Washington's blueline has had a healthy hand in sparking the team's attack this month. The Caps' blueline corps has combined to contribute seven goals and 21 assists to the team's offensive output in March.
Furthermore, Washington has had goals from its blueline in every game vs. the Canes this season. Dmitry Orlov and John Carlson each have a pair of goals against Carolina this season, and Martin Fehervary has one. Caps defensemen have combined for five goals and 10 points in the three games against the Canes in 2021-22.
In The Nets - Vitek Vanecek and Ilya Samsonov have both earned victories over the Hurricanes this month, and the duo split the starts in the just completed set of weekend back-to-backs, but it will be Vanecek in net tonight for the Capitals.
"They've been great for us," says Caps center Nicklas Backstrom of the team's two goaltenders. "And not just one, they've both been great. It helps a lot when you have a good goalie back there that we can trust to make some big saves."
Although the Caps have yielded three or more goals in nine of their last 10 games, they've gone 7-2-1 during that stretch, and they have gotten key saves at key moments in virtually all of their victories this month.
Vanecek has 17 wins this season, and seven of them have come in his nine March starts. Eight of them against Metro opponents; he is 8-1-0 with two shutouts, a 1.53 GAA and a .950 save pct. in 10 appearances against divisional opponents this season.
In Saturday's win over the Devils, Vanecek made 35 saves to stop a personal two-game losing streak. He has faced 31 or more shots in seven of his last nine starts. In his first career start against the Hurricanes on March 3, Vanecek stopped all 36 Carolina shots to record his third shutout of the season.
We are expecting to see Frederik Andersen in net tonight for Carolina. Washington faced Antti Raanta in the last meeting between these two teams on March 18, a night on which both teams were playing for the second time in as many nights.
After going 18-2-2 from the beginning of December to the end of February, Andersen is 2-3-1 in March, with a 2.33 GAA and a .903 save pct. Lifetime against the Capitals, Andersen is 5-4-2 with a couple of shutouts, a 3.05 GAA and a .904 save pct.
All Lined Up -Here's how we believe the Caps and Hurricanes might look on Monday night in the District:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 92-Kuznetsov, 43-Wilson
39-Mantha, 19-Backstrom, 77-Oshie
73-Sheary, 24-McMichael, 90-Johansson
45-Jonsson-Fjallby, 20-Eller, 21-Hathaway
Defensemen
42-Fehervary, 74-Carlson
9-Orlov, 3-Jensen
6-Kempny, 2-Schultz
Goaltenders
41-Vanecek
30-Samsonov
Extras
52-Irwin
Injured/Out
22-Larsson (sports hernia)
26-Dowd (upper body)
57-van Riemsdyk (upper body)
62-Hagelin (upper body)
91-Snively (upper body)
CAROLINA
Forwards
86-Teravainen, 20-Aho, 24-Jarvis
37-Svechnikov, 16-Trocheck, 88-Necas
21-Niederreiter, 11-Staal, 71-Fast
13-Domi, 82-Kotkaniemi, 18-Stepan
Defensemen
74-Slavin, 77-D'Angelo
76-Skjei, 22-Pesce
7-Smith, 28-Cole
Goaltenders
31-Andersen
32-Raanta
Extras
25-Bear
78-Lorentz
Injured/Out
48-Martinook (undisclosed)
51-Gardiner (back)
