Barry Trotz getting Capitals ready for Hurricanes’ systematic approach

Jeff Skinner is the Carolina Hurricanes’ leading scorer with 43 points. Victor Rask is close on his tail with 41. Justin Faulk is the team’s top-scoring defenseman with 34 points.

All three have one thing in common, other than the obvious similarity which is that they all have an affinity for scoring the puck and helping teammates do the same. Skinner, Rask and Faulk are also all 23 years old and the core of a young Carolina Hurricanes team that play a unique brand of hockey.

The Hurricanes (31-26-12) are just on the outskirts of the playoff picture, but they can put pressure on opponents, something coach Barry Trotz will be cautious of when the Washington Capitals host Carolina at Verizon Center on Tuesday night.

“They’ve got a real systematic approach in how they play,” Trotz said after the team’s morning skate. “They force you to play a certain way and very similar to New Jersey, who has an identity, forces you to play a certain way and Carolina does too. They pressure the puck. They don’t give you much time in space but they do well for a young group, breaking out of their own zone. They have five-man breakouts all the time and really rely on each other.”

There is just one forward on the Hurricanes’ roster age 30 or older — 33-year-old center Jay McClement, who returned on March 8 after missing four games with an undisclosed injury. The Capitals have six.

Carolina defenseman Noah Hanifin, drafted fifth overall last June, is only 19. He could be a freshman at Boston College, but instead has scored 16 points in 66 games for the Hurricanes.

In the Hurricanes’ last four games — two of which they won — they’ve played to overtime, including a 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins, who trail only the Capitals in the Eastern Conference.

“For a young group, they really are detailed and they have a lot of trust,” Trotz said. “Their execution level is good. [Coach] Billy [Peters] has done a great job with that group but they play as a group of five. There’s always support on the puck. They give up the least amount of shots in the league. They get some timely scoring.”

The Capitals (49-14-15) know they must be sharp against Carolina after losing two of their last three games. There have been slow starts — Washington has allowed the first goal in 16 of their 21 games since the end of the all-star break — and sloppy play. All the while, Alex Ovechkin’s 41-goal tally has come to a halt. He hasn’t scored in five games, his longest drought of the year.

On Monday, Trotz shuffled the team’s top trio and moved Jay Beagle up from the fourth line. The right-winger doesn’t plan on overhauling his approach. He’s just focused on feeding the puck to Ovechkin and center Nicklas Backstrom.

“As soon as I try and start playing somebody else’s game, it doesn’t work,” Beagle said.

This isn’t the first time Beagle has played on the top line — he’s done it briefly in past seasons— and he’s looking forward to it again on Tuesday, especially if it helps get the Capitals back on track.

“I love playing with them,” Beagle said. “They’re fun to play with, obviously. Getting to play with two of the best players in the world, so that’s always exciting. I think it’s just keeping it simple and working hard and playing my game and try to get them the puck.”