WATCH Capitals vs. Hurricanes Live Stream Online: NHL Division Rivals 2015, Playoff Updates

Hockey's back for the official 2015-2016 NHL season, so get ready, MstarsNews readers!

The Washington Capitals battle it out on the ice against the Carolina Hurricanes in Week 12 of the regular season on Thursday, December 31 at 6:00 p.m. EST from the PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. Read on to see where fans can watch and listen to a live stream of the highly-anticipated New Year's Eve hockey game online and catch up-to-date feeds and coverage on highlight plays and scores.

Now heading into mid-season, Washington maintains the impressive top spot in Joe McDonald's official NHL power rankings for ESPN.com, while Carolina lags just a bit behind (out of a total 30 teams):

Capitals (1): "The Capitals continue to dominate while on a seven-game winning streak. They have earned at least one point in 15 of their last 16 games. Braden Holtby is leading the league with 22 wins and a 1.92 GAA. He's 14-0-1 in his last 16 games. The Capitals' 54 points leads the East."

Record: 28-6-2 (1st in Metropolitan Division).

Hurricanes (10): "The Hurricanes are 7-3-1 in their last 11 games. Defenseman Justin Faulk scored his first even-strength goal of the season in Saturday's 3-1 win over the Devils and added his second during Sunday's 2-1 win over the Blackhawks. He ranks second for defensemen with 14 goals. Goalie Eddie Lack, who hadn't started since Dec. 15, made 35 saves against the Blackhawks."

Record: 15-17-5 (7th in Metropolitan Division).

Tonight's monumental game will be broadcasted live on local sports channels FSCR and CSMA.

For fans who want to try out a free live stream (which may mean downloading a torrent), click here. Also try this or another option.

And here's more info on current Division standings.

For a one-time fee, fans can access a NHL Gamecenter Live pass.

ESPN, ESPN Scoreboard, and NHL.com  are both good sources for up-to-date game coverage and feeds.

More radio listening options for Capitals and Hurricanes.

Official NHL team websites: Capitals and Hurricanes.

Enjoy this evening's exciting hockey game from North Carolina, and always stick with MstarsNews for even more NHL gameday coverage later this week. Which division rival will snag the big win tonight?