The Carolina Hurricanes have put together a season full of special moments.
They’ll have another one Saturday night when the Washington Capitals visit for a Stadium Series game in Raleigh, N.C.
The Hurricanes will be playing in their first outdoor game when the venue shifts from PNC Arena across the parking lot to North Carolina State’s Carter-Finley Stadium, where more than 57,000 spectators are expected to attend.
“You definitely have to enjoy it. This doesn’t come around very often,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “This game that’s coming up is going to be unique. You may never play another one.”
The Hurricanes will have a more fulfilling experience if they secure another victory. They’ve won nine of their last 10 games.
“I can’t wait,” Carolina center Sebastian Aho said. “I know it’s going to be a cool atmosphere. It’s going to be a special day for all of us and all North Carolina seems to be really pumped about it and so are we. Just try to soak it all in and go out there and have fun and play our best game.”
Washington coach Peter Laviolette holds a special part in the Hurricanes’ history so perhaps it’s appropriate that he’ll be on hand for this game. He was coach of the franchise’s only Stanley Cup championship team in 2006.
The game won’t include Capitals superstar captain Alex Ovechkin, who has taken time off due to his father’s death. Ovechkin has missed the past two games, including Tuesday night’s 3-2 home loss to Carolina.
“You take the best scorer out of it, it’s good for us, that’s for sure,” Brind’Amour said. “They’ve got other weapons they’re going to slide over there.”
This will be the first game since second-year forward Seth Jarvis posted his first career hat trick for the Hurricanes in Thursday night’s 6-2 victory against visiting Montreal.
“He can make you pay,” Brind’Amour said. “That’s what you hope he develops into. He has shown glimpses of it.”
Washington has lost three games in a row.
“We’ve got to do more,” Laviolette said. “It’s not good enough. We’ve got to have better execution. There’s passes out there that need to be made. There’s physicality that can be found somewhere.”
The Capitals are pretty much in a desperate mode and they’re aiming to bolster their stock regardless of the venue.
“It’s a big game. It’s an outdoor game,” Laviolette said. “We’ve got two points that have to come our way, have to come to our column and that’s it.”
Even as the visiting team, defenseman Dmitry Orlov said the setting is a big deal. Families of the Capitals players will be on hand as well.
“We should have confidence and belief in ourself,” Orlov said. “We’re not going to be scared to play.”
NHL officials have said this week that conditions should be ideal for the game based on weather forecasts.
Brind’Amour said he knows the scene is going to be unprecedented for hockey in this market.
“We want to make sure the people who come are proud of their team, win or lose, proud of that effort,” he said.
–Field Level Media
