Carolina Hurricanes at Washington Capitals: game preview
CarolinaHurricanes2026-27: 2-1-1 · 5 pts · 2025-26: 53-22-7 · 113 pts · 2ndat
WashingtonCapitals2026-27: 1-1-0 · 2 pts · 2025-26: 43-30-9 · 95 pts · 12thEighteen points apart last season
Carolina finished last season 2nd in the league on 113 points. Washington finished 12th on 95, and the 2025-26 season series went WSH 2-0-1.
Game-day prices arrive with the afternoon snapshot, about 4:30 PM ET on the day of the game.
Meeting number 155
Across 154 completed games, Washington lead the head-to-head 88-50-15.
Last 5 meetings
See all: Last 5 meetings →The table on each meeting night
League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 11 Nov 2025, Carolina were 5th in the league and Washington 24th. By 2 Oct it was 21st and 11th.
Carolina out-attempted Washington 347 to 278
Every attempt from the last meetings, both teams shooting right.
Carolina Hurricanes
Washington Capitals
Carolina have created the better chances, last 10 games
Shot quality both ways: expected goals weigh every unblocked attempt by its chance of scoring. Finishing above zero means more goals than the chances.
This season: 4 games for Carolina, 2 for Washington. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.
Last 10 games: 10 games for Carolina, 10 for Washington.
2025-26: 86 games for Carolina, 82 for Washington.
Power play and penalty kill, season and series
This season's rates first, then 2025-26 and the last meetings between the two. Power-play chances are counted from the penalty log with coincidental minors cancelled; faceoffs are each club's wins over draws taken.
All bars share one scale · 0–100%SeasonLast meetings
Carolina
Small sampleWashington
Small sampleJakob Chychrun has 5 points in the last 5 meetings
Each club's top three forwards and defencemen by points this season, with 2025-26 one tap away, then who has produced in the last meetings.
Jakob Chychrun vs Carolina · game by game
See all: Jakob Chychrun vs Carolina · game by game →Brandon Bussi has started most of these meetings
Brandon Bussi played 2 of the last 5 meetings with Washington, with a .865 save percentage. Starters are confirmed on game day.
Expected starter after their game on 12 Jan: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.
Expected starter after their game on 12 Jan: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.
Brandon Bussi
See all: Brandon Bussi →CAR · 1-1-1 in 2026-27 Starter estimate from 11 Jan
Also on the roster, 2026-27: Pyotr Kochetkov .889 (1 GP)
Full game logLogan Thompson
See all: Logan Thompson →WSH · 1-0-0 in 2026-27 Starter estimate from 11 Jan
Also on the roster, 2026-27: Charlie Lindgren .931 (1 GP)
Full game logScoring rates point to about 6.2 goals
No total is posted yet: it arrives with the game-day prices. Until then, the scoring rates and the recent meetings set the range.
Goals in the last 5 meetings
Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.
Scoring rates
Goals for and against per game. The estimate averages each team’s scoring with the other’s goals allowed, and leans on 2025-26 until a team has played 20 games.
5 on the injury lists
Carolina · injuries
Washington · injuries
Latest moves
See all: Latest moves →Placed G Cayden Primeau on waivers.
Placed C Seth Jarvis on the injured non-roster list. Placed LD Juuso Valimaki on waivers.
Placed C Seth Jarvis on the injured non-roster list. Placed D Juuso Valimaki on waivers.
Placed G Clay Stevenson, D Louie Belpedio, C Mike Brodzinski and RW Spencer Smallman on waivers. Released G Cal Petersen and D Jonathan McDonald from their professional tryout agreements. Assigned LW Maxim Schäfer to Cape Breton (QMJHL).
Placed G Clay Stevenson, D Louie Belpedio, C Mike Brodzinski and RW Spencer Smallman on waivers. Released G Cal Petersen from his professional tryout agreement.
Placed D Justin Holl on waivers for the purpose of being loaned to Hershey (AHL).
Carolina · 2026 draft
See all: Carolina · 2026 draft →Washington · 2026 draft
See all: Washington · 2026 draft →Updated after every final