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This afternoon’s game is a battle for first place in the Metropolitan Division. The Capitals and Hurricanes have been trading the number one and two spots for quite some time; currently they’re tied with 31 points each, with the Hurricanes having the edge because of having fewer games played.
The Capitals come into town after a tough watch in Florida, which saw the Capitals score three goals in the first four minutes of the second period. Alex Ovechkin recorded his 28th career hat trick to help the Capitals to a 4-3 victory.
Meanwhile, the Hurricanes had a busy second period of their own, scoring four goals en route to a 6-3 win over the Flyers. Five different Hurricanes players scored and 14 different players recorded points.
Vital Statistics
| Category | Hurricanes | Bruins |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Hurricanes | Bruins |
| Record | 54-20-8 | 51-26-5 |
| Goals/Game | 3.38 | 3.08 |
| Goals Against/Game | 2.44 | 2.66 |
| Shots/Game | 34.12 | 36.12 |
| Face Off Win % | 53.9% | 54.2% |
| Power Play % (Rank) | 22.0% (13th) | 21.2% (15th) |
| Penalty Kill % (Rank) | 88.0% (1st) | 81.3% (9th) |
| ES Corsi For % | 43.86% | 56.14% |
| ES PDO | 113.44 | 86.56 |
| PIM/Game | 12:00 | 22:00 |
Goaltender #1
| Category | Frederik Andersen | Linus Ullmark |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Frederik Andersen | Linus Ullmark |
| Record | 35-14-3 | 26-10-2 |
| Save % | .922 | .917 |
| GAA | 2.17 | 2.45 |
Goaltender #2
| Category | Antti Raanta | Jeremy Swayman |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Antti Raanta | Jeremy Swayman |
| Record | 15-5-4 | 23-14-3 |
| Save % | .912 | .914 |
| GAA | 2.45 | 2.41 |
Game Notes
- This is the first time this season, and the first time since January 13, 2020, that the Hurricanes and Capitals will meet. In the 2019-20 season, the Hurricanes were 2-2-0 against the Capitals. That last game was a 2-0 victory for Washington.
- As you might expect for the two top teams in the division, the Hurricanes and Capitals are fairly evenly matched. Whether it’s goals for (3.37 for Carolina, 3.52 for Washington), goals against (2.05 vs. 2.38) or the power play (20.3% vs. 18.8%) this looks to be a very tightly played game.
- Tony DeAngelo and John Carlson each have 19 points, the third highest points total for all defensemen in the league.
- The Capitals have won two in a row (Florida, Montreal) and eight of their last ten. Their recent losses have come to Seattle and Anaheim.
- Lars Eller, who just quarantined for 10 days after a positive COVID-19 diagnosis, is now back with the team and could potentially draw in the lineup, replacing Connor McMichael.
- Alex Ovechkin simply isn’t human. His 36 points are tied with Connor McDavid and trail only Leon Draisaitl.
Alex Ovechkin is 36 years old and is somehow is off to the best scoring start of his career. Russian Machine clearly never breaks pic.twitter.com/Ge4D4R2QWB
— Prashanth Iyer (@iyer_prashanth) November 27, 2021
Projected Lineups
Hurricanes
Teuvo Teravainen — Sebastian Aho — Martin Necas
Andrei Svechnikov — Jordan Staal — Seth Jarvis
Nino Niederreiter — VIncent Trocheck — Jesper Fast
Jordan Martinook — Jesperi Kotkaniemi — Steven Lorentz
Jaccob Slavin — Tony DeAngelo
Brady Skjei — Brett Pesce
Brendan Smith — Ian Cole
Freddie Andersen
Antti Raanta
Out: Ethan Bear (COVID protocol), Jake Gardiner (injured reserve)
Capitals
Alex Ovechkin — Evgeni Kuznetsov — Aliaksei Protas
Daniel Sprong — Lars Eller — Tom Wilson
Carl Hagelin — Nic Dowd — Garnet Hathaway
Beck Malenstyn — Michael Sgarbossa — Brett Leason
Martin Fehervary — John Carlson
Dmitri Orlov — Nick Jensen
Dennis Cholowski — Trevor Van Riemsdyk
Ilya Samsonov
Vitek Vanacek
Out: Nicklas Backstrom (LTIR), T.J. Oshie (injured reserve), Anthony Mantha (injured reserve)
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