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Monday, March 24, 2008

Game #77 Washington Capitals at Carolina Hurricanes

Where: RBC Center, Raleigh, NC

When: March 25, 2008, 7:00 PM

History:
Caps Record on this Date: 11-4-2-0
Caps Game 77 Record: 13-14-2-2
All-Time Record vs. CAR: 28-19-7-3
All-Time Road Record at CAR: 12-10-5-2
Last Season vs. CAR: 3-5-0
Last Meeting: 2/23/08, WAS 3 CAR 6

This Year:
WAS Record: 37-31-8
Standings Points: 82
Division Rank: 2nd
Conference Rank: 9th
Last Game: 3/21/08, WAS 5 ATL 3
Streak: Won 1

CAR Record: 41-30-5
Standings Points: 87
Division Rank: 1st
Conference Rank: 3rd
Last Game: 3/20/08, CAR 2 FLA 1
Streak: Won 3

Game 1: 10/6/07, WAS 2 CAR 0
Game 2: 11/5/06, WAS 0 CAR 5
Game 3: 11/24/07, WAS 5 CAR 2
Game 4: 11/30/07, WAS 3 CAR 4
Game 5: 2/8/08, WAS 1 CAR 2
Game 6: 2/23/08, WAS 3 CAR 6

Probable Line-Ups:
Washington

Forward Line 1: 8 OVECHKIN, 19 BACKSTROM, 25 KOZLOV
Forward Line 2: 24 COOKE, 91 FEDOROV, 28 SEMIN
Forward Line 3: 43 FLEISCHMANN, 15 GORDON, 10 BRADLEY
Forward Line 4: 87 BRASHEAR, 21 LAICH, 14 FEHR
Defense Pair 1: 26 MORRISONN, 52 GREEN
Defense Pair 2: 55 SCHULTZ, 4 POTI
Defense Pair 3: 23 JURCINA, 42 LEPISTO
Goalie: 33 HUET
Back-up Goalie: 37 KOLZIG

Carolina
Forward Line 1: 14 SAMSONOV, 12 STAAL, 26 COLE
Forward Line 2: 15 RUUTU, 34 JENSEN, 24 WALKER
Forward Line 3: 18 BAYDA, 51 HAMILTON, 37 AUCOIN
Forward Line 4: 28 BROOKBANK, 19 LETOWSKI, 44 EAVES
Defense Pair 1: 42 GLEASON, 6 HEDICAN
Defense Pair 2: 7 WALLIN, 77 CORVO
Defense Pair 3: 5 KABERLE, 2 WESLEY
Goalie: 30 WARD
Back-up Goalie: 47 GRAHME

Injuries:
Washington – 17 CLARK (groin) DTD, 92 NYLANDER (shoulder) IR, 2 POTHIER (head) IR, 39 STECKEL (broken finger), 4 ERSKINE (undisclosed) DTD
Carolina – 4 SEIDENBERG (ankle) DTD, 11 WILLIAMS (knee) IR, 45 TANABE (concussion) IR, 59 LAROSE (broken leg) IR, 17 BRIND’AMOUR (knee) IR, 8 CULLEN (concussion) IR, 13 WHITNEY (leg surgery) IR

Caps Milestones:
Milan Jurcina will play his 100th game as a member of the Capitals
Nicklas Backstrom needs 4 assists to tie Alex Ovechkin’s record for most assists by a Capitals rookie.
Mike Green needs 14 Shots on Goal to reach 300 for his career.
Victor Kozlov needs 6 Shots on Goal to reach 200 as a Capital.

Preview:

In the biggest must win game of the season, the Caps travel to Carolina to face the 1st Place Hurricanes. The Caps have won 9 of their last 13 games and are within 2 points of Boston in the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Caps pulled out a 5-3 come from behind victory on Friday to keep in the playoff hunt. Florida and Buffalo sit 1 point behind the Caps in the standings. The Caps are 2-4-0 against the Canes this season and must play them again on April 1st. Look for the Caps to come out strong against the Canes and try to establish a lead. This should be a very physical hockey game with a playoff atmosphere. The Caps have played enough of these type games that they should not be intimidated by the situation. The Canes have beaten the Caps in their previous 3 meetings. The Canes have “held” Alex Ovechkin to 5 goals and 9 points in the 6 games this season. Alex is a man on a mission in this one.

Joe’s prediction: Caps 4 CAR 2

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