Coming off a 3-2 loss on the road to the St. Louis Blues that snapped a four-game win streak, the Carolina Hurricanes played host to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night in what was the first meeting between the teams of the season due to a strange scheduling quirk.
Carolina entered play sitting at sixth in the Metropolitan division, eight points behind the first-place Capitals with two games in hand.
The Hurricanes didn’t take long to get the ball rolling in their attempt to start another winning streak, as a misplay by Capitals defenseman John Carlson gifted Victor Rask with a chance all alone in front of goaltender Braden Holtby.