2024-25 Regular Season, Game 78 Preview: Hurricanes at Washington Capitals

The Carolina Hurricanes dropped their third straight game on Tuesday night as they were shut out 3-0 by James Reimer and the Buffalo Sabres. After a scoreless first period, Tage Thompson snapped his 44th goal of the season past Pyotr Kochetkov early in the second. Late in the frame, Alex Tuch outmuscled Brent Burns to finish a short-handed breakaway, giving the Sabres a 2-0 lead through two periods. Early in the third, Taylor Hall couldn't handle a puck, allowing Jack Quinn to set up JJ Peterka for an easy snipe, putting the Canes away for good. The Canes hit iron twice in the final 20 minutes, but they couldn't get anything past their old friend, who stopped all 33 shots he saw to stonewall his former squad.

The Opponent: Washington Capitals (49-19-9, 107 Points- Metropolitan Division Champions)
Last Meeting: The two teams met eight days ago in Raleigh for their third battle of the season. The Canes jumped on the Capitals early in the first. Sean Walker got the ball rolling, snapping a Jakub Chychrun turnover past Logan Thompson through moving traffic. Midway through the period, Jackson Blake slid a rebound past Thompson before Seth Jarvis blistered his 30th goal on a one-timer, upping the lead to three goals after a pair of power-play goals. Charlie Lindgren replaced Thompson to start the second period. Logan Stanoven snapped a shot over Lindgren's blocker to make it 4-0 before the halfway point. Alex Ovechkin broke Frederik Andersen's shutout, scoring during a 5-on-3 to move two goals behind Wayne Gretzky. Blake added his second goal of the game on the power play in the third as the Canes dominated their way to a 5-1 victory. 

Since We Last Met: I'm not sure if you heard, but Alex Ovechkin became the league's all-time leader in goals. After scoring in Raleigh last Wednesday, Ovechkin followed it up by tying Wayne Gretzky with two goals against Chicago before passing him for good on Sunday on Long Island. He snapped a shot from his office past Ilya Sorokin to record Goal #895, complete with a celebration in the middle of the game to mark the occasion. Washington lost the game 4-1, but it was still a good moment. The Capitals haven't played since Sunday, but they officially won the Metropolitan Division with the Hurricanes' loss in Buffalo Tuesday night. The only big news from Washington, other than the record, was Aliaksei Protas leaving the Chicago game on Friday night. He's listed as week-to-week. They might be without Logan Thompson for a bit. too. He left last Wednesday's game in Raleigh after the first period with an upper-body injury. The Capitals have done everything correctly to get them in a great spot heading into the playoffs. Injuries could be a big story for them heading into the first round against, almost certainly, Montreal.

Stories of the Night
1. Gauging the Temperature Early
To call Wednesday's meeting "heated" would be afront to the word because things got downright violent when these two met in Raleigh. The third period was wild, complete with 120 PIM in the final 8:21 and eight players hitting the showers early. In a game that is otherwise meaningless for both teams, I'm almost certain there will be carryover. More specifically, I'm looking at whether Jalen Chatfield faces punishment from the Capitals after taking down Connor McMichael during their tilt. The league didn't suspend him, but the Capitals might have some questions. This game isn't worth getting hurt over, so maybe things calm down after the start, but we're going to see something happen tonight, and it's going to be big.

2. Get Something Positive Out of the Trip
This road trip has been a disaster for the Hurricanes. Playing three teams out of the playoffs, the Canes have yet to record a point. Their last two games, in particular, have been abysmal, losing 5-1 and 3-0 to Boston and Buffalo. While part of that is excellent goaltending from Jeremy Swayman and James Reimer, the other part is the offense not looking connected all of a sudden. In a highly charged atmosphere on Thursday night, the Canes need to dig deep and find something to salvage this road trip. A win over the division champs might be a step in the right direction heading into the final four games.

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