Caps and Canes Set for Home-and-Home

March 26 vs. Carolina Hurricanes at Capital One Arena
Time: 7:00 p.m.
TV:NBCSW
Radio: Capitals Radio 24/7, FAN 106.7
Carolina Hurricanes 42-26-7
Washington Capitals 44-24-8

The Capitals and the Carolina Hurricanes have been in the same division for the last two decades but have never met in the playoffs. This April, it could finally happen; if the season ended today, the two clubs would be first-round opponents. But first, the two teams will meet for a set of home-and-home games as they get together for the first time since December 27.
The two-game series against the Hurricanes starts on Tuesday night at Capital One Arena in the finale of Washington's four-game homestand. The Caps open their final road trip of the season - a three-game journey - in Raleigh on Thursday.
Only five points separate the two teams in the Metropolitan Division standings, with the New York Islanders and the Pittsburgh Penguins sandwiched in between the first-place Caps and fourth-place Hurricanes.
"We have been pushing in the right direction," says Caps coach Todd Reirden, "really from the trade deadline on, in terms of getting the results we want and doing some of the things we know we need to do to have success long-term and this will be a good test."

It's been more than a decade since a late-season Caps-Canes clash had meaning for both teams. Typically, when the Caps and Hurricanes meet in late March or early April, one team or the other - and sometimes both - is merely playing out the string with no hope of a playoff berth. More often than not, there is a double-digit point gap between these two teams at this time of the year.
The Canes' first season in Carolina was 1997-98, the same season in which the Caps reached the Stanley Cup Final for the first time, and also the season in which the Capitals left suburban Landover for the big barn on F St., mid-campaign. The Caps put together a 14-6-1 finishing kick that season, taking three of those wins from Carolina, including a home-and-home set on consecutive nights, April 18-19, 1998.
The Hurricanes have won three division titles since moving south from Hartford, in 1998-99, 2001-02 and 2005-06. The Caps missed the playoffs and weren't really in the race down the stretch in all three seasons. And while the Caps have been in playoffs for 10 of the last 11 seasons, the Hurricanes are looking to nail down their first spot in the dance in a decade, since 2009 when they advanced to the Conference final.
That spring of 2008-09 was the closest we've come to a Caps-Canes playoff clash, too. Had the Caps been able to get past Pittsburgh in the second round, they would have faced Carolina in the Eastern Conference final.

Washington and Carolina played a late season back-to-back set late in 2000-01. Canes were in eighth place with 79 points, two ahead of Boston for the final playoff berth. The Caps had their typically comfortable late-season lead in the Southeast, nine points ahead of Carolina. Both teams had seven games remaining, including the back-to-back set. Washington took both games, winning 7-0 in D.C. on March 28, 2001 and taking a 4-3 overtime victory in Carolina two nights later. Both teams were bounced from the playoffs in the first round that spring.
When Washington won seven straight en route to an unlikely playoff berth and Southeast Division title on the last night of the season in 2007-08, it overtook the first-place Hurricanes with its late surge. The Caps beat Carolina twice in those last seven to win the division after being down five points with six games to go. The Caps were aided by a somewhat improbable Florida win over the Canes in the Carolina season finale, and then Washington nailed down the title a night later when it defeated the Panthers in D.C. on April 5, 2008.
The two teams also played five times in a span of seven games down the stretch in 2005-06, when Alex Ovechkin was a rookie and the Canes were a few months shy of being crowned as Stanley Cup champs. The upstart Caps won the first two and lost the next three, one each in regulation, overtime and the shootout.
Rod Brind'Amour was the captain of that '05-06 Canes' team, and he is now its first-year head coach. Justin Williams was a developing young buck on that team, and after a two-Cup detour in L.A. and a two-season hitch in D.C., he is now the greybeard captain of a youthful and talented Carolina crew that has been one of the league's top teams in the second half.
"Carolina has played really good hockey and they've been playing with a lot of confidence," says Reirden. "They're well coached and they've got some good character guys on their team that push their group along. They're one of the top - I'd say, in terms of their depth and what they're doing recently - they have been one of the better teams in the league. So that will be a good test. To have them back-to-back will be a good challenge for us, and I think it will help us get prepared for playoff time.
Since the Caps and Canes last met just before the turn of the calendar, Carolina owns a 27-10-2 mark, third best in the league behind only Tampa Bay and Boston over that span. Washington owns 21-14-5 record over the same period, ranking 11th in the NHL.