WHERE: RBC Center, Raleigh TV: FSN RADIO: WCMC-99.9

TICKETS: (919) 834-4000

BURNING QUESTION

Can Carolina continue to slow down 60-goal scorer Alex Ovechkin, who hasn't scored in his past two games against the Canes after scoring five goals in the first four meetings?

CAROLINA

Hot Canes even killing penalties

The Hurricanes have won four straight at home and eight of their past nine overall after Thursday's 2-1 shootout win over Florida. ... A 5-for-5 short-handed performance Thursday moved the Canes out of last place in penalty-killing. At 78.4 percent, they're now 29th in the NHL. ... Cam Ward has stopped 83 of 88 shots. He has started a career-high 14 straight games.

WASHINGTON

Capitals still in playoff mix

A comeback 5-3 win over the Atlanta Thrashers on Friday -- the Caps were down 3-1 with 11 1/2 minutes to play -- kept Washington's Southeast Division chances alive. ... The Caps are 5-1-0 over their past six games. ... Brooks Laich has 10 goals in the past 16 games. ... Cristobal Huet will start in goal. He's 3-2-1 all-time against Carolina with a 2.37 goals-against average and .931 save percentage.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

TREVOR LETOWSKI, C

Injuries to centers Rod Brind'Amour and Matt Cullen opened up a spot for Letowski, and his ice time has almost doubled from an average of 9:20 over his first 65 games to 17:18 over the past four. He played 20:50 Thursday, his most in two seasons with Carolina, and he scored his second goal in as many games.

ALEX OVECHKIN, LW

The fifth-youngest player to reach the 60-goal mark, Ovechkin has a four-point lead in the NHL's scoring race over Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin with 106 points. He has eight multiple-point games out of his past 11, with 12 goals and 11 assists in that span. In six games against the Canes, he has nine points.

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