The Carolina Hurricanes (36-10-8) take on the Washington Capitals (28-23-6), who will be out to snap their losing streak, at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday. Washington is coming off a high-scoring 6-3 loss against the Panthers on Thursday, their third defeat in a row.
The Capitals took advantage of their power play opportunities, scoring twice on five shots while holding Florida without a power play goal. Dylan Strome, Nicklas Backstrom, and Evgeny Kuznetsov scored one apiece for the Capitals.
Erik Gustafsson had three assists to lead the team in scoring. Darcy Kuemper only had 30 saves on 34 shots against (.882%) in the loss. Carolina beat the Canadiens 6-2 on Thursday. Seth Jarvis was the leading goal scorer for the Hurricanes, netting a hat trick. Antti Raanta saved 20 of 22 shots.
HEAD TO HEAD
The Hurricanes have won both games between the teams this season, including a 3-2 victory in their most recent meeting on February 14, their third straight win against Washington.
Stefan Noesen led Carolina with two points (1G 1A). Joe Snively led Washington with two points (1G 1A). Frederik Andersen got the win, saving 34 of 36 shots (.944%).
FACING OFF
Washington is averaging 3.04 goals per game for the season, 20th in the NHL, and they are taking on a Hurricanes team that is allowing 2.67 goals a game (7th).
Meanwhile, Carolina has found the net 3.35 times a game on average, 10th in the league, and the Capitals are allowing opponents to score 2.88 goals per game (13th).
Carolina averages more shots/game (35.0) than most teams in the league, ranking third, though the team’s 9.8% shooting percentage is 20th. With an average of 31.6 attempts, Washington ranks 17th.
The Capitals’ 20.45% power play percentage ranks 20th in the league, while the Hurricanes are 22nd with a conversion rate of 19.89%. When it comes to penalty killing, Carolina has the league’s seventh-ranked PK% at 81.52%, while Washington is eighth at 81.46%.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 54 points this season, Alex Ovechkin is the top skater for the Capitals. He is among the league leaders with 32 goals (8th) and has added 22 assists.
In the net, Kuemper (16-15-4) is Washington’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 2.59 GAA and a .915% save percentage.
Sebastian Aho and Martin Necas lead the Hurricanes in scoring with 48 points apiece. Aho has 24 goals and 24 assists in 47 games, while Necas has 21 goals and 27 assists in 54 games. Andrei Svechnikov has 19 goals and 27 assists.
Pyotr Kochetkov (10-4-5) has the best goals against average for Carolina at 2.33. He has a save percentage of .913%. Raanta (13-2-3) has played the most games in net for the Hurricanes this season. He has a 2.46 GAA and a .902% save percentage.
HOME AND AWAY
Washington is 14-12-3 away from Capital One Arena this season. Carolina is 18-6-2 as the home team this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
Carolina Hurricanes (-200)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
