Hurricanes, Capitals renew division rivalry after gutsy wins
The Carolina Hurricanes got the better of the Washington Capitals during last year's playoffs, winning the best-of-seven series in five games. Now the Metropolitan Division rivals will meet for the third time this season on Saturday in the nation's capital.
Both teams have won on each other's home ice, with Washington taking the first meeting 4-1 and Carolina answering back with a 3-2 shootout win a month later.
This time around, both teams are looking for key points before the Olympic break arrives next week.
Carolina has been one of the hottest teams in the league over the last few weeks, going 9-1-2 over their last 12 games. The Hurricanes are on a six-game point streak (5-0-1).
On Thursday, Carolina showed off its best escape act of the season, stunning the Utah Mammoth with three goals over the last two minutes to pull out a 5-4 win. Jordan Staal scored the go-ahead goal with 30 seconds remaining, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.
"There was definitely some momentum we were riding, the fans got into (it), and we were just riding the wave," Staal said. "It's making memories. I love the game, I love being part of nights like this. You want more of them. You're chasing those memories. To do it alongside the guys in this room is what I live for."
Andrei Svechnikov and Shayne Gostisbehere also played the role of heroes down the stretch. Svechnikov's power-play goal got the Hurricanes within 4-3 with 1:59 remaining. Gostisbehere tied it 32 seconds later, paving the way for Staal.
"I don't know how you draw them up, but at the end of the day, we found a way," Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "Kind of a crazy last couple of minutes, but we'll definitely take it."
The Capitals, on the other hand, want to string some wins together in order to improve their playoff positioning. A win against the division-leading Hurricanes could provide a big boost.
On Thursday, the Capitals got a much-needed 4-3 shootout win over the Detroit Red Wings, who have been one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference this season.
What was perhaps most impressive was goaltender Charlie Lindgren gutting it out through the shootout after clearly being injured late in the overtime period. Following the game, Lindgren was carried out into the locker room by his teammates.
Nic Dowd ended the game with the last goal in the shootout.
"I was pretty nervous," Dowd said. "I didn't want Chucky to have to take another shot. ... Chucky gives us an opportunity to win that game, regardless of the bad bounce. The guy has been a warrior for us all year, a big-time leader. I think we deserved to win that game, and he deserved to win that game."
Lindgren's status against the Hurricanes is up in the air, but his gutsy performance could catapult the Capitals into some momentum.
"We felt like we were just playing the way that we've been wanting to and just haven't been for a long time," Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun. "So it was nice to feel like we were kind of back on a good, solid game, obviously holding them to one goal for most of the game. Just a great team effort."