Capitals and Hurricanes set to restore hostilities in rematch on Thursday
Photo credit: Daily Faceoff
The Washington Capitals will return to home ice on Thursday for the first time since Alex Ovechkin's historic 895th career goal-but with tensions still lingering, there may be some unfinished business to address.
The Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes are set to face off again this week, and hopefully both teams will look to keep the rematch from escalating like it has in the past.
The Capitals are scheduled to face the Hurricanes just eight days after a heated matchup at Lenovo Center, where tensions boiled over into multiple fights, eight misconduct penalties, and a staggering 142 total penalty minutes in a 5-1 Capitals loss.
The most memorable scrap came late in the third period between Connor McMichael and Jalen Chatfield. While neither landed many punches, Chatfield capped off the fight with a forceful takedown, slamming McMichael to the ice.
Tom Gulitti took to X and explained how Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery doesn't expect any further altercations in Thursday's rematch.
"Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said he doesn't expect any carryover vs. Hurricanes tonight from the nastiness between them when they played last Wednesday. Did say Capitals should be motivated to play much better (lost 5-1)." -Gulitti
Katie Adler of RMNB writes that Carbery wasn't a fan of how McMichael and Chatfield's fight ended, highlighting the risk of injury during a helmetless takedown.
"McMichael ultimately landed on his upper back as he managed to avoid falling onto the ice head-first. Carolina head coach Rod Brind'Amour, in contrast, thought that the severity of the play was overblown." -Adler
Both players were assessed fighting majors and misconduct penalties following the altercation, and Jalen Chatfield did not receive any supplemental discipline from the NHL Department of Player Safety.
The Capitals will begin their final five-game stretch of the regular season with a matchup against the Hurricanes, set for a 7:30 p.m. puck drop.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 10 | 25 ANSWERS Capitals and Hurricanes set to restore hostilities in rematch on Thursday Will there be any physical altercations in Thursday's rematch between the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes? | ||
| yes | 21 | 84 % |
| no | 4 | 16 % |
| List of polls | ||
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