Washington Capitals Pregame: Carolina Hurricanes

Published: 20^th Jan 12 12:50 pm

Matt Geiser
Matt Geiser

RANT It!

Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE

The Washington Capitals (25-18-2) will take on the Carolina Hurricanes (16-24-8) tonight at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina tonight. This is the fourth of six meetings between the two teams for the 2011-12 season with the Capitals winning the first three. The Capitals will look to improve their road record tonight, which has been a problem for the team this season. They have only captured 17 out of a possible 42 points on the road this season. This stat will have to improve by the time the playoffs roll around.

Tomas Vokoun will be getting the start in net tonight. It will be his 11th start in the past 12 games, with Michal Neuvirth just playing in the shutout win of the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night. Coach Dale Hunter made it clear after the Capitals morning skate that he told Vokoun prior to the game in Montreal that he would have the night off, and start against the Hurricanes. In those 10 straight games that Vokoun started, he went 7-3-0 and really got into a good groove of things.

Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom are team leaders against the Hurricanes this season, with both players having four points. However, the Capitals will be without their star center tonight. That means Alexander Semin and Troy Brouwer will have to step up in their supporting roles this evening.

Jay Beagle, John Erskine, and Jeff Schultz are all healthy scratches for the game.

The game begins at 7:00 pm and can viewed on CSN-MA and FS-CR.

Let’s Go Caps! Rock the Red!