Finallyyyyyyyyy, the Capitals have come back to Washington. After two games on the road, the Capitals will host the Carolina Hurricanes for the home opener at Capital One Arena. It’s going to be a good one, as these two teams don’t exactly love each other right now.
Puck drops around 7 PM. I’m Peter, and I’ll be your recap specialist this evening.
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|---|---|---|
| Record | 1-0-0 | 2-0-0 |
| Shot Attempt % | n/a | n/a |
| PDO | n/a | n/a |
| Power Play | n/a | n/a |
| Penalty Kill | n/a | n/a |
Projected Lines
We expect more of the same, as Kuznetsov misses his final game to suspension.
Ovechkin – Backstrom – Wilson
Vrana – Eller – Oshie
Hagelin – Stephenson – Panik
Hathaway – Dowd – Leipsic
Siegenthaler – Carlson
Orlov – Jensen
Fehervary – Gudas
Holtby
Last Time
When the Caps last played the Canes in a game that mattered, it was brutal. Below is a graph of the shot-attempt contest across all seven games of last spring’s playoff series.
The Caps will need to control a lot more play if they want to dominate Saturday’s game like they have the last two.
The visualization above comes from Natural Stat Trick, whom we support on Patreon. It’s a great resource, if you’re interested.
Storylines
- The Hurricanes were off on Friday after beating the Habs in a shootout on Thursday. The Capitals played — and won — in Long Island last night.
- Ilya Samsonov had an excellent, low-stress NHL debut.
- Braden Holtby also seemed to have a low-stress night.
- Washington’s hottest start belongs to Jakub Vrana.
- Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour has been particularly vocal towards Caps players in the past. Todd Reirden said that’s messed up. Meanwhile:
Rod Brind’Amour said this was “hilarious” today https://t.co/rohkN2euhu
— Sara 'buckets' Civian (@SaraCivian) October 5, 2019
- Ex-Cap Nate Schmidt will be on the shelf for a while.
- Carolina seems to be starting goalie James Reimer. Defender Trevor van Riemsdyk is still out, and they’re using these lines:
Nino – Aho – Turbo
Mcginn – Staal – Svechnikov
Dzingel – Haula – Necas
Foegele – Wallmark – Martinook
Slavin – Hamilton
Edmundson – Pesce
Gardiner – Fleury
Finally: Alcohol in Tide Pod Format
No ice. No stirrer. No glass. We're redefining how whisky can be enjoyed. Introducing The Glenlivet Capsule Collection #noglassrequired pic.twitter.com/F4MGErsfZM
— The Glenlivet (@TheGlenlivet) October 2, 2019
I’m more of a Balvenie/Laphroaig guy, but I cannot deny the appeal of this level of trashiness-dressed-as-sophistication. Next round’s on me.
Full RMNB Coverage of Caps vs Hurricanes
Headline image: Elizabeth Kong
