Adam Williams presents his prediction for the NHL match.
In Raleigh, two teams will meet that currently convert fewer than 15% on the power play, but the Carolina Hurricanes at least hold a stable position in the play-offs. The Washington Capitals have once again fallen out of the wildcard zone — they clearly do not look like favourites against the hosts.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes are on a four-game winning streak. The latest was tough — they travelled to face the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are eager to climb into the play-offs. For more than half the game, the hosts struggled, trailing 2:4, and were unlucky (three shots hit the woodwork). The turning point came with a goal by Sean Walker at the end of the second period. The final third belonged to the Hurricanes — 2:0, making it 5:4 overall. Despite only 14% power play efficiency, the squad are third in the NHL in scoring (3.87 goals per game).
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are still on their road trip, but they are failing to earn points. Against the Pittsburgh Penguins, they only played well in the second period, scoring three goals, but that was just to come back from 0:3. In the end, they were pressed into a 3:5 loss. The similarly struggling Tampa Bay Lightning defeated them (3:2). The visitors conceded few goals this time, but Logan Thompson’s save percentage actually turned out to be even lower than that of backup Charlie Lindgren in Pennsylvania (85% versus 86.7%). A mini-series of two losses dropped the Capitals to 14th place in the conference.
Carolina Hurricanes vs Washington Capitals Prediction
Ideally, Logan Thompson, who still has the best goals-against average in the league (1.61 goals), should start in goal against the Carolina Hurricanes, but the home goaltending group are generally solid (2.80 goals). The Washington Capitals should not forget the second-round series of the last Stanley Cup, when the Hurricanes beat them 4:1 and conceded only seven goals. We expect the final success to go to the Carolina Hurricanes.
