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.

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.

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

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 Carolina Hurricanes host the Washington Capitals in the second round of the NHL Playoffs with a 2-1 lead in the series.

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

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.

The NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer has no points through three games. If the Capitals want to survive this series, that needs to change in a hurry.