NHL Preview: Washington Capitals at Carolina Hurricanes – Canes Favored
Team Page: Washington :: Carolina
91% of Bets Placed on Carolina -210 | Matchup | Goalies
The Carolina Hurricanes are becoming proficient at overcoming deficits, but they haven’t needed to do that to beat the Washington Capitals.
After another come-from-behind win, the Hurricanes look to continue their recent dominance of the Capitals when the Southeast Division rivals resume their season series Thursday.
Oddsmakers have made Carolina -210 money line (NHL Odds)
favorites for todays game, the over/under has been set at 6.5 total goals (View NHL Sports Books).
Carolina (25-18-5), which is 4-0-1 since a three-game losing streak, has managed to rally for wins against Florida twice in its last three games.
Five days after overcoming a three-goal deficit in the third period of a 6-4 victory, the Hurricanes beat the Panthers 3-2 in overtime Tuesday night after tying the score with 6:26 left in regulation.
Despite the recent rallies, the Hurricanes are just 2-15-2 when trailing after two periods, compared with a perfect 17-0-0 when they hold the lead entering the final 20 minutes.
"Good hockey teams find ways to win and they get that character that they’re never too far out of it," Hurricanes forward Erik Cole said. "We’re close. We definitely had that last year, but I definitely feel things are coming together."
Justin Williams gave Carolina the victory Tuesday with his team-high seventh game-winning goal, a power-play marker at 1:47 of overtime. The All-Star forward also leads the team with 23 goals overall this season.
Scott Walker and Cole also scored for Carolina. Walker has three goals in his last four games.
Carolina has hardly had to resort to thrilling comebacks against Washington (19-20-7) in their last two meetings, outscoring the Capitals 9-1 after losing the season’s first matchup between the teams, 5-2 on Oct. 7. Cole had four goals and three assists in the two Carolina victories, including a power-play goal and three assists in the most recent meeting, a 4-1 win on Nov. 17 at Washington.
Dating to last season, the Hurricanes have taken five of their last six games against the Capitals. A win Thursday would give Carolina three straight home wins over Washington for the first time.
The Capitals have lost six straight on the road since a 3-2 win at Toronto on Dec. 23. It’s their longest road losing streak since dropping seven in a row from Feb. 28-March 27, 2004.
Overall, Washington has lost three straight games – allowing 17 goals during the losing skid – and 10 of its last 14.
The Capitals lost 5-2 at Ottawa on Tuesday night after tying a season high for goals allowed in a 7-3 defeat to Florida on Saturday.
Alexander Ovechkin extended his points streak to 12 games Tuesday, when he assisted on Steve Eminger’s first goal of the season. Ovechkin has five goals and 13 assists during his current 12-game run.
He scored two goals in Washington’s Oct. 7 victory over the Hurricanes, but failed to register a point in this season’s two losses against Carolina.
Washington may be without defenseman Mike Green, who went to the dressing room Tuesday after he was struck by Christoph Schubert’s shot in the first period. He returned later in the period, then left after his second shift in the second and didn’t return.
by: Gary Roberts – theSpread.com – Email Us
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