Capitals lineup tonight: Washington’s projected lineup for Game 1 against the Carolina Hurricanes | Stanley Cup Playoffs, Round 2, May 6, 2025

Tonight, the Washington Capitals will look to defend home ice when they face off against the Carolina Hurricanes for Game 1 of this second-round series.

Both teams are fresh off dominant first-round series that saw them close things out in five games, with Washington eliminating the Montreal Canadiens and Carolina eliminating the New Jersey Devils.

For Washington, this is their first time making it out of the first round since 2018, when they won the Stanley Cup. On the flip side, the Hurricanes are looking to return to the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2006 after a second-round elimination last season.

With these two divisional rivals looking to punch their tickets to the Eastern Conference Final, Game 1 tonight seems poised to produce fireworks.

Washington Capitals projected lines

Note: Lines subject to change

Forwards

1. Anthony Beauvillier - Dylan Strome - Alex Ovechkin
2. Connor McMichael - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Tom Wilson
3. Andrew Mangiapane - Lars Eller - Ryan Leonard
4. Brandon Duhaime - Nic Dowd - Aliaksei Protas

Defense

1. Jakob Chychrun - John Carlson
2. Rasmus Sandin - Matt Roy
3. Alexander Alexeyev - Trevor Van Riemsdyk

Goalies

1. Logan Thompson
2. Charlie Lindgren

Powerplay

1. Tom Wilson, Dylan Strome, Jakob Chychrun, Alex Ovechkin, John Carlson
2. Andrew Mangiapane, Connor McMichael, Pierre Luc-Dubois, Alex Ovechkin, Rasmus Sandin

Penalty Kill

1. Nic Dowd, Tom Wilson, Matt Roy, John Carlson
2. Aliaksei Protas, Connor McMichael, Rasmus Sandin, Trevor Van Riemsdyk

Looking at the odds for tonight's game between the Capitals and the Hurricanes

Heading into tonight's game between the Hurricanes and the Capitals, Washington is sitting as a slight betting underdog despite the fact that it'll have home ice advantage in this series.

Throughout the regular season, Washington posted a 29-9-6 record at home, while the Hurricanes went just 16-21-4 on the road this season.

Despite that, and the fact that the Capitals finished the regular season with the better record, the team is sitting as a +114 underdog on FanDuel, while Carolina is a -137 favorite.

Meanwhile, over on DraftKings, Washington is a +114 underdog, while Carolina is a -135 favorite.

Based on the latest odds, it would take a $135 bet on Carolina as the favorites to win $100 in addition to the original bet. On the other hand, a $100 bet on the Capitals as the underdogs could win $114 on top of the original bet.

Following Game 1 tonight, the two sides will be back in action again on Thursday before the series shifts to Carolina for Games 3 and 4.