Preview: Hurricanes at Capitals

HURRICANES (21-18-7) at CAPITALS (31-9-6)
7 p.m. ET; FS-CR, CSN-DC, NHL.TV

Hurricanes team scope

Carolina Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward is expected to start for the 21st time in 23 games. Ward allowed seven goals on 41 shots in a 7-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday and backed up Michael Leighton in a 3-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday. The Hurricanes have lost three in a row following a four-game win streak and will play their fifth consecutive game against a Metropolitan Division opponent. Carolina leads the NHL with an 88.7 percent success rate on the penalty kill and has the third-most short-handed goals with six. "We need to bring our game and make it tough on them," defenseman Justin Faulk told the Hurricanes website on Saturday. "That's what we're good at. It's a good chance for us to show that we're a confident group and have enough confidence to put an end to it." Carolina is 6-13-6 on the road this season.

Capitals team scope

The Washington Capitals have not lost in regulation since Dec. 27 (11-0-2) and are tied for the League lead with 68 points. Goalie Braden Holtby will start after backup Philipp Grubauer made 32 saves in a 4-3 overtime win against the Dallas Stars on Saturday. Holtby has three shutouts in his past seven starts. Defenseman John Carlson will miss his fourth consecutive game because of a lower-body injury and likely will be held out until after the NHL All-Star break (Jan. 27-30). "He hasn't been able to practice with us a whole lot," coach Barry Trotz said Monday. "He's missed some time here. He plays substantial minutes for us, so it's not fair to him and it's not smart by us that he would do that. His injury is one that it has its own time. He's progressing really well."

Hurricanes projected lineup

Jeff Skinner -- Victor Rask -- Ty Rattie
Sebastian Aho -- Jordan Staal -- Elias Lindholm
Brock McGinn -- Derek Ryan -- Lee Stempniak
Joakim Nordstrom -- Teuvo Teravainen -- Viktor Stalberg
Jaccob Slavin -- Brett Pesce
Ron Hainsey -- Justin Faulk
Noah Hanifin - Matt Tennyson
Cam Ward
Michael Leighton
Scratched:Klas Dahlbeck, Ryan Murphy, Jay McClement
Injured:Eddie Lack (concussion), Bryan Bickell (illness)

Capitals projected lineup

Alex Ovechkin -- Nicklas Backstrom -- T.J. Oshie
Marcus Johansson -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Justin Williams
Brett Connolly -- Lars Eller -- Andre Burakovsky
Daniel Winnik -- Jay Beagle -- Tom Wilson
Karl Alzner -- Matt Niskanen
Brooks Orpik -- Dmitry Orlov
Taylor Chorney -- Nate Schmidt
Braden Holtby
Philipp Grubauer
Scratched:None
Injured: John Carlson (lower-body)

Status report

Hanifin and Teravainen will play after being healthy scratches Saturday in Columbus.

Who's hot

McGinn has seven points (four goals) in six games. … Lindholm has 10 points (three goals) in his past nine games. ... Oshie has six points during a three-game point streak (three goals, three assists) and has 16 points (seven goals) in 11 games. ... Backstrom has 16 points (four goals) during a nine-game point streak. … Burakovsky has seven points in his past five games including goals in four straight. … Niskanen has seven points (two goals) in four games. … Ovechkin has 12 points (four goals) during a seven-game point streak.