RALEIGH - When the Washington Capitals came to town a month ago, that game was the Capitals' biggest of the season.
When the Carolina Hurricanes visited the Florida Panthers on Thursday, that game was the Panthers' biggest of the season.
And after winning both, the Canes have finally arrived at their biggest game of the season.
A regulation win tonight over the Capitals at the RBC Center would effectively, if not mathematically, clinch the Southeast Division title for the Hurricanes, who have a five-point lead on Washington with six games to play.
That's big -- the biggest so far for the Canes.
"You could say that," Hurricanes center Eric Staal said. "It's in our building against a team that wants to close the gap, and we want to separate [from them] for good. We have to be ready to play. They're going to be hungry, too. It should be a good one."
The Panthers, who visit the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight, are six points back with one game left against Carolina, but it is the Capitals who loom largest in the Canes' rear-view mirror.
The two teams play again in Washington on April 1, but a Carolina win tonight would all but make that game moot.
"I know they're going to want to win because they can pretty much clinch the division if they win tomorrow night," Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said Monday. "That will be a big motivating factor for them, and we want to deny that."
The Caps were four points back of the Canes -- with three games in hand -- when they arrived in Raleigh on Feb. 23 looking to further close the gap on the Canes, who have led the Southeast for all but 14 days this season.
That 6-3 Carolina win was the sixth in the Canes' current 15-4-1 run and a serious setback for the Caps' aspirations, which have been largely refocused on getting into the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Caps are two points back of the Boston Bruins in that department, but a win over Carolina tonight would put the division back on the Caps' radar screen. Right now, they're concerned with bumping the Bruins.
"With the way we're playing and the way Boston is playing, I like our chances," Capitals goalie Olaf Kolzig said. "[The game in] Carolina can determine, basically, the division. If we don't find a way to win tomorrow, then the division is over. But if we win, then we still have a chance. But for me, it's just get in. It doesn't matter if we win the division or get the eighth spot."
The Canes lead the season series with Washington 4-2-0, but there's no question this is the most important yet.
"Everybody understands the circumstances. Everyone knows where they sit," defenseman Glen Wesley said. "It's going to be a playoff hockey game, not that we haven't been playing those for about five weeks here."
Tonight's game begins what should be the final six-game segment of the season for the Canes, who chopped up the season into chewable bits coming out of the All-Star break.
With a successful record assured in the second-to-last segment no matter what happened against the Panthers, Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette decided to add a little sizzle to Thursday's game, making it the first game of a seven-game, playoff-style segment to finish the regular season.
So that 2-1 shootout win gave the Canes the first of the four wins -- "four wins, minimum," Laviolette added -- they'll need to close out the schedule up to their recent standards.
"Every day is an opportunity and a chance to take a further step in the division, a further step in the conference, and we'll get that opportunity against Washington," Laviolette said. "You couldn't ask for a better opponent. It's in our building, with our fans, and we've got to make sure we take care of it."
When the Carolina Hurricanes visited the Florida Panthers on Thursday, that game was the Panthers' biggest of the season.
And after winning both, the Canes have finally arrived at their biggest game of the season.
A regulation win tonight over the Capitals at the RBC Center would effectively, if not mathematically, clinch the Southeast Division title for the Hurricanes, who have a five-point lead on Washington with six games to play.
That's big -- the biggest so far for the Canes.
"You could say that," Hurricanes center Eric Staal said. "It's in our building against a team that wants to close the gap, and we want to separate [from them] for good. We have to be ready to play. They're going to be hungry, too. It should be a good one."
The Panthers, who visit the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight, are six points back with one game left against Carolina, but it is the Capitals who loom largest in the Canes' rear-view mirror.
The two teams play again in Washington on April 1, but a Carolina win tonight would all but make that game moot.
"I know they're going to want to win because they can pretty much clinch the division if they win tomorrow night," Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said Monday. "That will be a big motivating factor for them, and we want to deny that."
The Caps were four points back of the Canes -- with three games in hand -- when they arrived in Raleigh on Feb. 23 looking to further close the gap on the Canes, who have led the Southeast for all but 14 days this season.
That 6-3 Carolina win was the sixth in the Canes' current 15-4-1 run and a serious setback for the Caps' aspirations, which have been largely refocused on getting into the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Caps are two points back of the Boston Bruins in that department, but a win over Carolina tonight would put the division back on the Caps' radar screen. Right now, they're concerned with bumping the Bruins.
"With the way we're playing and the way Boston is playing, I like our chances," Capitals goalie Olaf Kolzig said. "[The game in] Carolina can determine, basically, the division. If we don't find a way to win tomorrow, then the division is over. But if we win, then we still have a chance. But for me, it's just get in. It doesn't matter if we win the division or get the eighth spot."
The Canes lead the season series with Washington 4-2-0, but there's no question this is the most important yet.
"Everybody understands the circumstances. Everyone knows where they sit," defenseman Glen Wesley said. "It's going to be a playoff hockey game, not that we haven't been playing those for about five weeks here."
Tonight's game begins what should be the final six-game segment of the season for the Canes, who chopped up the season into chewable bits coming out of the All-Star break.
With a successful record assured in the second-to-last segment no matter what happened against the Panthers, Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette decided to add a little sizzle to Thursday's game, making it the first game of a seven-game, playoff-style segment to finish the regular season.
So that 2-1 shootout win gave the Canes the first of the four wins -- "four wins, minimum," Laviolette added -- they'll need to close out the schedule up to their recent standards.
"Every day is an opportunity and a chance to take a further step in the division, a further step in the conference, and we'll get that opportunity against Washington," Laviolette said. "You couldn't ask for a better opponent. It's in our building, with our fans, and we've got to make sure we take care of it."
