Capitals top Hurricanes in shootout for sixth straight win
RALEIGH, N.C. -- T.J. Oshie scored late in the third period to tie it and added a shootout goal as the Washington Capitals won their sixth straight, defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 Friday night.
Washington (19-7-3) snapped Carolina's seven-game home winning streak as Oshie notched his 18th career game-deciding goal in the shootout. Evgeny Kuznelsov also scored in the shootout against Carolina goalie Cam Ward as the Hurricanes fell to 12-12-6.
Teuvo Teravainen scored his eighth of the season just eight seconds after Nicklas Backstrom was called for holding, redirecting a shot by Sebastian Aho in the high slot past Philipp Grubauer to give the Hurricanes a 3-2 lead before Oshie notched his 10th with 6:04 left to tie the score and send the game into overtime.
Washington managed just eight shots midway through the second period, but scored twice, getting goals from Alex Ovechkin and Justin Williams over a span of five minutes. Ovechkin's goal was just his second in 10 games since registering a hat trick on Nov. 23. Meanwhile, Williams, the former Hurricane, is starting to get hot, notching his fifth goal in the last five games.
Ovechkin's 14th of the season was just the seventh power-play goal surrendered by Carolina, the NHL's top penalty killing club at 92.3 percent. In fact, it was just the third power-play goal allowed by the Hurricanes since Oct. 30.
Washington wasn't able to hold the lead for long as Justin Faulk executed a perfect 2-on-1 with Aho 2:18 after the Williams goal to tie the score 2-2 heading into the third. It was Faulk's fifth of the season and second in as many games.
Jeff Skinner scored his team-leading 12th of the season for Carolina less than six minutes in, fighting off Washington defenseman Matt Niskanen in the crease after taking a pass from Derek Ryan, who now has points in five straight games as the Hurricanes grabbed an early 1-0 lead.
NOTES: Carolina's last eight-game home winning streak was in 2010. ... Washington LW Andre Burakovsky, with just two goals (both in the season opener) in 27 games, was a healthy scratch for a second straight game. ... Carolina rookie Sebastian Aho scored his first two career goals in the season's first meeting against Washington. ... Capitals G Philipp Grubauer was given another shot at the Hurricanes after allowing four goals in his Nov. 12 start in Raleigh. ... Washington LW Alex Ovechkin came into the game with the 14th most points (76) all-time by a Hurricanes' opponent. ... Carolina backup goalie Eddie Lack missed the last 13 games with a concussion.