After a solid victory in Toronto over a storied Maple Leafs franchise, the Washington Capitals ventured down south to meet their division rivals, the Carolina Hurricanes. Unfortunately for the men in red, the list of players out due to injury increased by one, with the addition of Eric Fehr after last night's game. The Caps' roster currently has so many Hershey Bears' players on the list, you wonder if there's anyone left in Chocolate Land. That includes the AHL's leading scorer, Alexandre Giroux, who dressed for the Caps today in Raleigh.
Nick Backstrom lit the lamp for the Cap's only goal and Canes' goalie Michael Leighton had a stellar day shutting down Alex Ovechkin and the boys. Dressed in their not-so-hot black third jersey, the Hurricanes saw tallies from Ray Whitney (with 2) and Eric Staal. The victory puts the Hurricanes closer to catching up with the Caps for division lead, moving within 4 points.
So the team will have to regroup as they head home to face one of the hottest teams in the Eastern Division this week - the Boston Bruins. The boys from Beantown are stacked - and I mean stacked - with talent. Bruins' goalie Tim Thomas leads the League in GAA percentage and is already being touted as a favorite to win the Vezina trophy. Phil Kessel and Marc Savard have become scoring machines. And when Bruin's captain Zdeno Chara is on the ice, the Caps' better have their heads on a swivel - the guy is a monster at 6'9" (sans skates!) and boasts one of the hardest slapshots in the League. Another one to watch is new Bruins poster boy Milan Lucic, who is a powerful hitter and doesn't hesitate to drop the gloves if need be.
The contests between these two times got very chippy last season, with a fight breaking out after the very first face-off during one game. Hockey Mom hopes that the Caps can get some of the walking wounded back on the bench before Wednesday's game.
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