What - Game 77 (47-22-7)
When - 7 p.m., Friday, April 5
Where - PNC Arena; Raleigh, NC
How to Watch - Bally Sports South
The Carolina Hurricanes will take on the Washington Capitals (36-29-10) for the final time this season in their penultimate home game of the regular season.
The Canes are coming off of a 4-1 loss to the Boston Bruins the night before. It wasn't the worst game, but a bad start saw three quick ones for Boston and Carolina was just in too deep to dig themselves out.
They'll hope for a better start against the Capitals, a team they have scored quite a few goals against.
Washington is coming off of a 4-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins last night as the team has continued to not be able to capitalize on their playoff push.
After crawling their way back into the postseason picture, they Capitals followed it up by losing their last four i n a row. It will be a desperate team facing down Carolina.
Streaks
- Jake Guentzel (1g, 4a) has points in three straight games.
Milestone Watch
- Dmitry Orlov is one point shy of 300 career points.
- Brett Pesce is two points shy of 200 career points.
- Frederik Andersen played in his 100th game as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday against Boston.
Game Notes
- Carolina is 1-0-2 against the Capitals this season having lost 2-1 in a shootout on Dec. 17, won 6-2 on Jan. 5 and lost in a shootout 7-6 on March 22.
- Sebastian Aho (13g, 26 pts in 26 games), Jake Guentzel (12g, 33 pts in 26 games), and Martin Necas (4g, 13 pts in 13 games) are point per game players against the Capitals.
Key Matchups
Starting Goalies
- Pyotr Kochetkov: 20-13-4; 0.911 Sv%; 2.38 GAA
- Darcy Kuemper: 13-13-3; 0.888 Sv%; 3.32 GAA
Leading Scorers
- Goals - Sebastian Aho (33) / Alex Ovechkin (27)
- Points - Sebastian Aho (85) / Dylan Strome (62)
Power Play
- Carolina - 26.8% (3rd)
- Washington - 21.2% (17th)
Penalty Kill
- Carolina - 86% (1st)
- Washington - 78.8% (19th)
Hurricanes Projected Lineup
Jake Guentzel - Sebastian Aho - Seth Jarvis
Teuvo Teravainen - Evgeny Kuznetsov - Martin Necas
Jordan Martinook - Jordan Staal - Jesper Fast
Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Jack Drury - Stefan Noesen
Jaccob Slavin - Brent Burns
Brady Skjei - Brett Pesce
Dmitry Orlov - Jalen Chatfield
Frederik Andersen
Pyotr Kochetkov
Injuries and Scratches: Brendan Lemieux, Tony DeAngelo, Spencer Martin, Scott Morrow, Andrei Svechnikov (illness)
Capitals Projected Lineup
Alex Ovechkin - Connor McMichael - Tom Wilson
Aliaksei Protas - Dylan Strome - Ivan Miroshnichenko
Max Pacioretty - Hendrix Lapierre - Sonny Milano
Beck Malenstyn - Nic Dowd - Michael Sgarbossa
Martin Fehervary - John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin - Nick Jensen
Alexander Alexeyev - Trevor van Riemsdyk
Darcy Kuemper
Charlie Lindgren
Injuries and Scratches: Vincent Iorio, Hunter Shepard, Nicklas Backstrom (hip), T.J. Oshie (UBI), Ethan Bear (personal)