Jockeying for Position
The Hurricanes have been playing playoff-level hockey for nearly three months now, and the result is a 38-game stretch in which the team has earned a record of 27-9-2 (56 points), the second-most wins and points in the league since Dec. 31.
Because of that, the Canes have surged in the standings and currently occupy the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The gap between Carolina and both Montreal (second wild card) and Columbus widened ever so slightly with Sunday's victory.
PROJECTED LINEUP
The Capitals sit atop the Metropolitan Division, and the Canes trail them by just five points. Add in a game in hand plus the home-and-home set on tap, and the Canes can't be counted out to win the division, as wild as that may seem.
These two games could also provide a preview of a potential first-round playoff match-up between these two divisional opponents.
They're all big games at this time of the season, and the Canes have been thriving in these situations for almost half a season.
"It starts with Roddy. He shows a lot of belief in us, and it kind of just trickles its way down," Trevor van Riemsdyk said. "When he says he knows we're a playoff team, he knows we can make a run and do some damage, you believe it in his voice. That's huge, and we've got great leadership."
Andrei 2000
At 18 years and 363 days old, Andrei Svechnikov became the youngest player in franchise history to score an overtime goal for the Hurricanes when he beat Carey Price five-hole during 3-on-3 action on Sunday.
Tuesday marks the Canes' rookie's 19th birthday. Svechnikov has tallied 20 goals - all at even strength, which paces all rookies - in his first season in the NHL. He's tied for second amongst NHL rookies in goals, and he's the 13th rookie in franchise history to reach the 20-goal mark.
"You love the confidence he has," head coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "He feels it. He's earned the right to be out there. That's the whole key."
The Last Meeting
It was December 2018 when these two divisional opponents last met twice in the span of two weeks. Alex Ovechkin recorded his second straight hat trick in the Caps' 6-5 shootout win in Raleigh on Dec. 24. After the three-day holiday break, the Hurricanes dropped a 3-1 decision in Washington on Dec. 27.
The Opposition
The Capitals are coming off a season series sweep over the Philadelphia Flyers that included three wins in the month of March alone, capped with a 3-1 victory at home on Sunday. Tuesday's match-up will bring an end to a four-game homestand for the Caps, who have thus far earned three of a possible six points in this stretch. Washington is 6-3-1 in its last 10 games and 22-10-6 at home on the season.
ADVANCE AUTO PARTS KEYS TO THE GAME
