Jan. 31 vs. Carolina Hurricanes at Capital One Arena
Time: 5:00 p.m.
TV: MNMT
Radio: 106.7 THE FAN/Caps Radio Network
Carolina Hurricanes (33-15-5)
Washington Capitals (26-22-7)
Back in town after six games in a dozen days on the road, the Caps head into a final four-game stretch ahead of the NHL’s three-week pause for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy. Three of those four contests will be played at home, including each of the first two. And the first three of those games are against Washington’s fellow Metropolitan Division occupants, beginning with Saturday night’s skirmish with the Carolina Hurricanes.
The road was rugged for the Caps; they finished the trip with five of a possible dozen points (2-3-1), limping home with a handful of injuries and in 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings, eight points out of the second wild card slot and six points behind both Pittsburgh and the New York Islanders for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Off the ice, the Caps endured travel woes and late nights getting into their hotels, and on the ice, several players were banged up and missed games, including goaltender Logan Thompson and blueliners Matt Roy and Rasmus Sandin.
Washington saved its best game of the trip for last, taking a 4-3 shootout win over the Red Wings in Detroit on Thursday night. Thursday’s win came in a wild game that the Caps might have won in regulation if not for the crazy bounce of an Alex DeBrincat dump in that caromed off a photographers’ hole in the corner and bounded into the Washington net behind a stunned Charlie Lindgren.
But the Caps persevered to win 4-3 in a shootout, prevailing on Nic Dowd’s first career shootout goal, in his 629th career game. It came in just his second career shootout attempt, and first in nearly a decade, since an unsuccessful try in a Nov. 13, 2016 game against the Jets and Connor Hellebuyck in Winnipeg.
“That was my second [shootout attempt],” Dowd told reporters of his game-winning shootout goal in Detroit. “My other one came 10 years ago in my second career game in Winnipeg, and I blasted it over the net and we lost.”
(Some clarification is needed here. Dowd did indeed play his second career NHL game in Winnipeg, and the Kings lost the game, but it was a 4-1 setback with no shootout needed. The shootout bid to which he refers did come in his “second career game in Winnipeg,” but it was his 19th career game overall, and it came in his second NHL season; he played five games for Los Angeles in 2015-16.)
The rough trip didn’t help the Caps’ dimming playoff hopes, but Thursday’s win was uplifting because underneath all the craziness of the game itself, the Caps put together a strong 65-minute performance that looked more like the team that played so well through the season’s first two months.
“It definitely felt good after not so great of a road trip,” says Caps center Dylan Strome, who had a goal and an assist, scored ahead of Dowd in the shootout, and won 10 of 14 draws (71 percent) in the victory. “And obviously we battled and we felt like we deserved the two points, and obviously two pretty unlucky goals [against] to close it out there.
“But we got some bounces tonight, some good and some not so good. We win a [coach’s] challenge – two of them, I guess – and sometimes you just need those bounces. Hopefully, it can carry us into a couple of home games, and we can finish off the [games before the] break strong.”
Detroit has been one of the League’s hottest teams over the last two months, and goaltender John Gibson entered Thursday’s game with a 17-3-0 record in his 20 starts since Dec. 1. But Washington played a sturdy game in its own end, limiting the Wings to just three shots on net in the first period, and holding Detroit without a shot on goal for over 14 minutes of playing time.
Dowd’s first goal since Dec. 11 staked the Caps to a 1-0 lead in the first, and Washington never trailed in the win. The Capitals were more connected in the offensive zone, they were able to put together some lengthy shifts to tax the Detroit defense, and they were the more physical of the two teams despite out-possessing the Wings for the game’s first 40 minutes.
Dowd delivered six of Washington’s 26 hits in the game, while Tom Wilson and Ryan Leonard chipped in with four apiece.
“I was pretty upset after last game [Tuesday in Seattle],” says Dowd. “And I felt like myself and then our group, we owed it to ourselves to just be a better hockey team. Like, we are a better hockey team, and we didn't showcase that last game. I was pretty upset about that.
“So, I think going into this game, our main focus was just to keep it simple, be physical, play our game. And I think it showed in the first period, right? That was Caps hockey; that's how we play a tight game. It's 1-0, and we're fine with that, right? And Chuck's gonna make some saves, and we're going to forecheck, and we're going to be suffocating. And honestly, it felt good. It felt good to watch our team play like that.”
Carolina comes to town for the last of the three meetings between the two teams this season. When the Canes last visited the District on Dec. 11, Washington entered that game as the first-place team in both the Eastern Conference and the Metropolitan Division. The Caps were a single point ahead of Carolina entering that game, in which the Canes prevailed by a 3-2 count in the shootout.
Beginning with that Dec. 11 game, Carolina has rolled to 15-6-3 mark, tied with Detroit for fourth best in the League across that span. Washington went 8-13-4 across that same stretch, falling a dozen points behind Carolina while turning in the NHL’s 29th best record.
Saturday’s game is a one-game trip for the Canes and the start of a weekend set of back-to-backs. The Hurricanes return to Raleigh on Sunday to host Los Angeles.
Carolina is coming in hot; it is 9-1-2 in its last dozen games, and it has earned points in six straight (5-0-1). Most recently, the Canes crafted a late comeback over Utah at home on Thursday night, scoring three goals in the final two minutes of the game to turn a 4-2 deficit into a 5-4 win over the Mammoth.
