2025-26 Regular Season, Game 30 Preview: Carolina Hurricanes at Washington Capitals

Last Game: The Carolina Hurricanes closed their seven-game homestand on the right foot, knocking off the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first of four straight games against division opponents. The Blue Jackets broke the ice in the first period. Sean Monahan made a perfect pass to the front of the net for Dmitri Voronkov to finish on the power play, staking Columbus to an early lead. Jet Greaves had kept the Canes quiet until halfway through the second period. A massive two-man effort from Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis ended with the former setting up the latter for his 17th goal to tie the contest at one. The third period belonged to the home team. Joel Nystrom intercepted an attempted entry by Columbus. He turned it the other way, setting up the Canes for a 2-on-1. Taylor Hall found a streaking Eric Robinson to bury one and give the Canes their first lead of the night. The Canes' power play struck again, too. Jordan Staal redirected Svechnikov's shot to score his second on the power play in as many games and double the Canes' lead. Jordan Martinook finished it with a short-handed empty-net goal with 1:15 left, icing the game for good. Behind his 23 stops, Brandon Bussi earned his 9th win in 10 starts, becoming the 5th goalie in NHL history to accomplish this feat. Most importantly, it earned the Canes two points to finish their homestand at 4-3-0. 

Injury Report

Jaccob Slavin: He skated during Wednesday's optional practice before hitting the road, so we'll start waiting for the news that he's going to play.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi: He was also on the ice in a full capacity on Wednesday, so it might've just been a small issue keeping him out for Tuesday's game.

The Opponent: Washington Capitals (18-9-3, 39 Points; 1st in the Metropolitan Division)

Last Meeting: The Capitals defeated the Hurricanes, 4-1, when they visited Raleigh one month ago. They got off to a quick start, getting an early goal from Brandon Duhaime less than six minutes in. The Canes show a little life with a fight between Logan Stankoven and Martin Fehervary late in the opening frame. A Sebastian Aho turnover ended up in the back of the net early in the second. Alex Ovechkin sprung Dylan Strome for a breakaway tally to double their lead. The Canes got it back late in the second, breaking Logan Thompson's shutout courtesy of Nikolaj Ehlers. Washington earned the dagger on the power play. Jakob Chychrun was left with a little too much time to fire and score, restoring Washington's two-goal lead. Ovechkin added the empty-net goal to seal the win. 

Since We Last Met: The Capitals have been scorching hot over the last month, vaulting over the rest of the division to take the early-season lead. They're winners of 11 of their last 15 games, earning points in 13 of them. There isn't much they aren't doing well right now. Their offense has the third-most goals (102) scored and third-most goals per game (3.43). Their defense and goalies are tied for the second-fewest goals allowed (72) and the second-fewest goals per game (2.40). They have two defensemen in the Top 10 in scoring. Tom Wilson is in the Top 10 in goals. Alex Ovechkin keeps defying Father Time and is scoring at a near-40-goal pace at 40 years old. The only area of their game that is lacking right now is their special teams. They're 24th on the power play and 27th on the penalty kill. They are similar to the Canes in that respect. They're on the cusp of being the first team to 40 points in the Eastern Conference, though the Canes 

Stories to Watch

1. The battle for 1st place

Only one point separates the Capitals and the Hurricanes atop the division and conference standings. The Capitals hold the slight edge with 39 points, while the Canes enter with 38. The winner of tonight's contest will not only be the first team in the conference to reach 40 points, making them the third this season, but they'll also be in 1st place. To accomplish this, the Hurricanes will need a far better game than they played last month against the Capitals. 

2. Counting down to Slavin's return

Playing a better game could also mean getting Jaccob Slavin back into the lineup. He hasn't played since the second game of the season, missing the last 28 and counting. While there is no indication that he'll play just yet, thus likely pushing his return to this weekend, it would be cool to see him back on the ice today, of all days. The defense has played decently well recently, but getting their best defenseman back would be more than welcome.