Ryan Leonard will appear in his second NHL game as the Capitals visit the Hurricanes. (Winslow Townson — Imagn Images)Just 24 hours after a close win over the Boston Bruins, the Washington Capitals are right back at it and in for a tough Metropolitan Division showdown as they take on the Carolina Hurricanes.
Here's everything to know before puck drop at 7 p.m. at Lenovo Center.
Washington Capitals Line Combinations
The Capitals will stick with the same lineup as they rolled out in Boston, but Logan Thompson will get the start after Charlie Lindgren played on Tuesday. Ryan Leonard will play in his second NHL game.
Here are the combinations:
Alex Ovechkin-Pierre-Luc Dubois-Tom Wilson
Aliaksei Protas-Dylan Strome-Ryan Leonard
Andrew Mangiapane-Lars Eller-Connor McMichael
Brandon Duhaime-Nic Dowd-Anthony Beauvillier
Rasmus Sandin-John Carlson
Jakob Chychrun-Trevor van Riemsdyk
Martin Fehervary-Dylan McIlrath
Logan Thompson
Charlie Lindgren
Washington Capitals Stats
- Aliaksei Protas has points in seven of his last eight games.
- Dylan Strome has back-to-back multi-point outings and five points in his last five outings.
- Tom Wilson has four points in his last five games.
Washington Capitals Storylines
- Alex Ovechkin sits at 891 career goals after scoring against the Bruins and is three away from tying Wayne Gretzky's all-time record and four from breaking it. In 91 career games against the Hurricanes, Ovechkin has 51 goals, the third-most he's recorded against any franchise.
- Ryan Leonard will get another game to show what he can do after recording three hits and a plus/minus rating of plus-1 in his debut on Tuesday. Watch for him to keep getting comfortable.
- Look out for the fourth line, as Nic Dowd and Brandon Duhaime are both picking up the production. Duhaime has a career-high nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points in 74 games this season.