Courtesy: heraldsun.com
In what used to be a Southeast Division showdown, the Washington Capitals will take on the Carolina Hurricanes for the second time this season as they welcome them back to Verizon Center.
The last time these two squared off was all the back in the early stages of the season as the Hurricanes prevailed 3-2 on Oct. 10 in Washington D.C. It was a not-so-friendly welcome back for former Capital Alexander Semin, but the forward has a game-tying goal in the second period and received his fair share of boo birds with his team leaving the building victorious.
Things are much different this time around as the Capitals were a struggling hockey team early on, while the Hurricanes were flirting with .500. Washington finds themselves second in the Metropolitan Division at this stage of the season, while Carolina is sixth. However, despite the placement in the standings makes it seem like the gap is huge, just five points separate these two squads.
For the third straight game, forward Brooks Laich will be missing in action with a groin injury and it appears to be similar to the injury that limited him to just nine games in the abridged 2012-2013 season. Head coach Adam Oates hopes it’s not something that’s going to linger, but given the situation with Laich, he isn’t going to change any of his lines offensively. The fear that this groin injury may lead to a potential abdominal injury like last time is ever-so prevalent, so the Capitals will proceed with caution. Luckily for Washington, his absence hasn’t been all that catastrophic as they are 2-1-0 without him.
Defensively, the pairings will remain the same as they were with the game against the New York Islanders and it makes sense as to why Oates continues to scratch Alexander Urbom and Steve Oleksy. Simply put, these guys aren’t disciplined enough and have a propensity to make sloppy mistakes over and over again. Coaches want consistency, but only if it’s positive.
Mike Green is still the one defender who can’t seem to find himself this season. Some may question if he is still bothered by a lower-body injury that caused him to miss three games earlier in the year, but he just isn’t the same guy. In 24 games played this season, Green has taken 62 shots-on-goal and has scored on none of them. While he has 12 assists, his 62 shots are the most by any player in the NHL without scoring a single goal. Once he gets one, they will probably come in bunches, but it has to be on his mind that he isn’t lighting up the lamps like he has in the past.
As far as the goalies go, Cam Ward (4-5-4, 2.90 GAA, .908 SV%) will get the start in the net for the Carolina Hurricanes, while Braden Holtby (12-8-1, 2.64 GAA, .925 SV%) will start once again for the Washington Capitals. Holtby has stood tall recently and has stopped 72 of his last 76 shots faced. His last two starts have been incredible given the circumstances.
After allowing five goals against the Ottawa Senators Nov. 27, Holtby was expected to receive the day off Nov. 29 against the Montreal Canadiens. When Michal Neuvirth came out of the tunnel for pre-game warmups and slipped on a puck, Holtby was given the call to duty and has responded well with two straight wins over the Canadiens and the Islanders on back-to-back nights. While Neuvirth can return as early as Saturday off of the injured reserve list, Holtby will need to stand tall tonight once against against a Carolina team who’s offensive, defensive and special teams statistics all span across the 20’s in terms of NHL rankings.
This is a game the Capitals should win… it’s just a matter of their effort once again. If the Capitals get a lead and sit on it, the Hurricanes will linger around.
