What - Game 78 (46-27-4)
When - 7:30 p.m., Thursday, April 10
Where - Capital One Arena; Washington, DC
How to Watch - ESPN+, Hulu, Disney+, SN1, MNMT

The Carolina Hurricanes will take on the Washington Capitals (49-19-9) tonight in the final regular season showdown between the two teams.

The Canes, who have lost each of their last three games, can clinch home-ice advantage in the first round of the NHL playoffs tonight with at least a point in the standings.

Carolina is in a bit of a rut on both ends of the ice after clinching a playoff berth as not only have they been allowing quite a few goals, but they're now struggling to score as well.

The team needs a jolt in a big way to get right heading into the postseason.

Washington is coming off of perhaps the most exciting regular season game of the season as captain Alex Ovechkin broke Wayne Gretzky's goal scoring record on Sunday against the New York Islanders.

Although they lost that game, I'm sure there was nothing but smiles for the Capitals over the past four days.

In addition, the last time these two teams met, it was a gong show as the Capitals tried to get their pound of flesh after falling behind 5-1 in the third period.

It led to eight player ejections and a lot of drama, which Canes coach Rod Brind'Amour attributed mostly to media-driven narratives.

We'll see at puck drop though if any ill feelings have carried over.

Streaks

• None

Milestone Watch

• Jordan Martinook is one assist away from 100 Hurricanes assists.
• Jaccob Slavin is two points shy of 300 career points
• Jordan Staal is thee goals shy of 300 career goals.
• Brent Burns is four assists shy of 100 assists as a Carolina Hurricane.

Game Notes

• Carolina is 2-1-0 against Washington this season, having last won 5-1 on April 2 at Lenovo Center.
• Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is now the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer (895), having broken Wayne Gretzky's record Sunday on Long Island.

Key Matchups

Projected Starting Goalies

• Frederik Andersen: 13-6-0; 0.914 Sv%; 2.11 GAA
• Charlie Lindgren: 18-13-3; 0.896 Sv%; 2.71 GAA

Leading Scorers

• Goals - Seth Jarvis (30) / Alex Ovechkin (42)
• Points - Sebastian Aho (70) / Dylan Strome (76)

Power Play

• Carolina - 18.6% (24th)
• Washington - 23.1% (14th)

Penalty Kill

• Carolina - 84.9% (1st)
• Washington - 81.5% (7th)

Hurricanes Projected Lineup

Seth Jarvis - Sebastian Aho - Jackson Blake
Taylor Hall - Jack Roslovic - Logan Stankoven
Andrei Svechnikov - Jordan Staal - Jordan Martinook
Eric Robinson - Mark Jankowski - Tyson Jost

Jaccob Slavin - Brent Burn
Dmitry Orlov - Jalen Chatfield
Shayne Gostisbehere - Sean Walker

Frederik Andersen
Pyotr Kochetkov

Injuries and Scratches: Scott Morrow, Jesperi Kotkaniemi (LBI), William Carrier (LBI), Jesper Fast (neck)

Jesperi Kotkaniemi Out 'At Least A Week' Following Saturday's Early Exit <a href="http://thn.com/carolina" target="_blank">Carolina Hurricanes</a> forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi will be on the shelf for at least a few games according to Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour.

Capitals Projected Lineup

Alex Ovechkin - Dylan Strome - Tom Wilson
Connor McMichael - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Ryan Leonard
Andrew Mangiapane - Lars Eller - Taylor Raddysh
Brandon Duhaime - Nic Dowd - Anthony Beauvillier

Rasmus Sandin - John Carlson
Jakub Chychrun - Trevor van Riemsdyk
Martin Fehervary - Matt Roy

Charlie Lindgren
Hunter Shepard

Injuries and Scratches: Alexander Alexeyev, Ethen Frank, Dylan McIlrath, Nicklas Backstrom (hip), Sonny Milano (UBI), T.J. Oshie (back), Aliaksei Protas (foot), Logan Thompson (UBI)

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