Carolina Hurricanes at Washington Capitals
Friday February 8th, 2008, 7:00 PM
TV: CSN
Last Meeting: November 30th, 2007. Caps lose 4-3

Just two days after pulling into sole possession of first place in the Southeast Division the Capitals face their biggest threat to the that title, the second place Carolina Hurricanes. Fans and media talk about the “four point game” any time division rivals meet and a lot of the time it’s just a way to try and hype games. That’s not the case tonight, where a Carolina win means they take the division lead back (albeit with the Capitals sill having a game in hand) and a Capitals win open up three points between the two teams (as well as between Atlanta and Washington) and could perhaps be the start of the Capitals running away with the division.

About the Opponent

Carolina Hurricanes: 26-26-4, 56 points, 2nd in the Southeast Division, 10th in the Eastern Conference.

Team Leaders
Goals: Eric Staal (27)
Assists: Matt Cullen (30)
Points: Ray Whitney (50)
Plus/Minus: Bret Hedican (+10)
Penalty Minutes: Mike Commodore (74)
Fights: Mike Commodore (6)

Random Hurricanes Fact
When the Hurricanes first moved to North Carolina from Hartford they were forced to play home games in Greensboro, not Raleigh as originally planned. As a result the team averaged 9,086 and 8,188 fans per game and its first two seasons.

Random Hurricanes Statistic
Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward’s save percentage has dropped each month this season. From October to January his monthly save percentages have been .912, .907, .899 and .875.

Keys to the Game

Washington
Establish yourselves early. The last time these two teams met, Carolina was in first place and Washington, languishing in the cellar, was an afterthought. Carolina knows just how much ground the Capitals have gained on them and both want to prove that they are the better team. However, if the Caps come out and show just how much they’ve improved Carolina may either lose confidence or panic and be unable to get their game going.

Carolina
Stay out of the box. Carolina has the NHL’s worst penalty killing at 77.0% and since the ‘Canes generate a lot of their offense with the powerplay they’ll be looking to play a man up, something it’s hard to do if you take penalties.

Players to Watch

Washington
Alexander Ovechkin - Ovechkin has been pretty much unstoppable lately and without a shutdown defenseman (or anything approaching it) going against him he should run roughshod over Carolina’s defense.

Carolina
Rod Brind’Amour - One of the most underrated players in the NHL for years, Brind’Amour is a smart two-way player who can still produce late in his career.

Erik Cole - Cole, a U.S. Olympian, is a pure power forward who uses his body well to protect the puck, create chances and deliver big hits. His combination of speed, size and toughness may be too much for the Capitals defense.

Around the (Inter)net

ESPN has a pair of articles on the Capitals: Part III of their season-long series on the team which focuses mainly on Bruce Boudreau and an article about Olaf Kolzig’s future…An update on the new proposed European hockey league that claims it will rival the NHL…More people list the NHL as their favorite sport/league than the NBA, NCAA Men’s Basketball, Men’s Golf, Men’s Soccer, Horse Racing and Men’s Tennis