Carolina at Washington

Carolina used defense to get wins the last two games. But that was at home and heading to the defending champions' lair will be a tough challenge for an offense that ranked #16 in goals scored, #20 on the power play. They gave up four goals in each of the first two games in this building, both losses. Carolina is banged up, too, with Andrei Svechnikov (concussion) missing Game 4, top-six forward Micheal Ferland has missed two straight, and forward Jordan Martinook is ailing. The Hurricanes 22-59 on the road against a team with a winning home record, plus 14-37 away versus a team with a home winning percentage of greater than .600. Washington is on an 18-9 run and has beaten Carolina six of the last eight meetings, including four straight in this arena by a 14-7 count. Play Washington.