The Capitals have no other choice, trailing the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 in the Eastern Conference Second Round heading into Game 5 of the best-of-7 series at Capital One Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS). After losing the past two games on the road, Washington returns home with its season on the brink of elimination.

The Washington Capitals head into Thursday's Game 5 matchup with the visiting Carolina Hurricanes knowing they must win the next three games to keep their second-round series going and advance to the NHL's Eastern Conference final.

Our Hurricanes vs. Capitals predictions expect plenty of shots to come from the stick of Shayne Gostisbehere in Game 5.

Aliaksei Protas took McMichael’s place on the second line with Tom Wilson and center Pierre-Luc Dubois, while Anthony Beauvillier moved from the fourth line to the first in place of Protas. Taylor Raddysh, a healthy scratch in Game 4, replaced Beauvillier on the fourth line.

The Capitals are staring down elimination in Game 5. Here's what would help them start to dig out from the 3-1 hole.

Goaltender Frederik Andersen has given Canes a comfort level with his play in net that allowed them to be aggressive and take 3-1 series lead.

The Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes play Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs Monday in Carolina.

The Hurricanes beat the Capitals, 5-2, on Monday night to take a 3-1 lead in their second-round playoff series.

We have a pair of Game 4s ahead of us in tonight's NHL playoff action. The Carolina Hurricanes can take a 3-1 series lead with a win against the Washington Capi

As much as the Hurricanes won Game 4, the Capitals lost it with a lack of execution at too many key times. Like in Game 3, they had chances in the first 10 minutes to seize control of the game. They couldn't finish.