Preview: Capitals vs. Hurricanes

For the second time in a week, the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals go head-to-head in a Metropolitan Division showdown.
The Canes, who are in the midst of a season-long, seven-game homestand, won the first two games of this stretch, beginning with a 6-4 victory over Washington on Saturday.

Rematch
Saturday's game marked the first regular-season meeting between the Hurricanes and Capitals in Raleigh since Game 6 of the First Round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. And though it was just game 39 of the regular season, it certainly didn't feel like a game 39.
"They've been pretty intense games, that's for sure, for regular-season games," head coach Rod Brind'Amour said after practice on Thursday. "They have a little more emotion involved, and the level of play is pretty high."

It's no surprise that an emotional, seven-game playoff series decided in double overtime of a do-or-die finale stoked the flames of a rivalry.
"That's where rivalries come from]. You play the same team seven games in a row in two weeks, and you're going to have some hatred for each other," Dougie Hamilton said on Saturday. "It's always a fun game when we can play them."
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"It's always competitive playing against these guys. We don't like them. They don't like us. It's that simple," Warren Foegele said on Saturday. "It's always fun beating them."
Turbo Boost
Teuvo Teravainen played his 400th career NHL game on Tuesday, the last 240 games of which have been played consecutively. Teravainen recorded two assists on Tuesday and has totaled 222 points (66g, 156a) in 285 games with the Hurricanes.
The Last Meeting
It was last decade when the Hurricanes and Capitals - last decade, of course, being on Saturday, Dec. 28,
a 6-4 win for the Canes
. The much-needed victory snapped a three-game skid for the Canes, who were beginning a season-long homestand. Warren Foegele tallied two goals and an assist in the second period to lead the way offensively.

The Opposition
Washington dropped a 4-3 decision to the New York Islanders on New Year's Eve in the only game they've played since Saturday. Still, the Capitals sit atop the league standings with 59 points (27-9-5) in 41 games.
"You've just seen them, so you're certainly prepared for what you're going to see and face," Brind'Amour said.
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