Hurricanes rally past Capitals 4-2 for sixth straight win
Key takeaways
- The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Washington Capitals 4-2 on Tuesday night.
- Andrei Svechnikov scored twice, including the late go-ahead goal.
- Carolina has now won six straight games this season.
The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Washington Capitals 4-2 on Tuesday night. The game took place at Lenovo Center in Raleigh. Carolina scored late to take its first lead.
Andrei Svechnikov was the star. He scored two goals. He added one assist.
His power-play goal broke a 2-2 tie late in the third period.
The win was Carolina's sixth in a row. The Hurricanes are now 6-1-1 this season. They also got revenge.
Washington had beaten them 5-2 on October 2.
What happened
Washington started well. The Caps led 1-0 after the first period. Boone Jenner scored at 9:26.
Ryan Leonard set him up. It was Jenner's third goal in three games.
Carolina tied the game early in the second period. Svechnikov scored at 3:58. Washington challenged the goal.
The Caps said the puck was under the goalie. The challenge failed. The game stayed tied at 1-1.
The failed challenge cost Washington more. The Caps had to kill a penalty. They did that.
Then they went back in front.
Justin Holl scored at 6:39 of the second period. It was his first goal as a Capital. Leonard and Dylan Strome set him up.
Washington led 2-1.
Carolina tied it again late in the period. Eric Robinson tried to pass the puck. It hit a Washington player.
It went into the net. The game was tied 2-2 with 1:11 left in the second period.
The third period stayed tied for a long time. Then penalties hurt Washington. Carolina got a power play late in the game.
Svechnikov scored with 6:04 left. The Hurricanes led for the first time all night.
Mark Jankowski sealed the win. He scored into an empty net with 1:27 left. The final score was 4-2.
The penalty problem
Penalties were the key to the game. Washington played well at even strength. The Caps led twice.
But they spent too much time in the penalty box.
After the first period, Carolina got five straight power plays. That run lasted about 30 minutes of game time. Washington killed the first four.
The fifth one broke the tie.
The Caps also failed a coach's challenge in the second period. That gave Carolina a power play too. The Caps killed it.
But the penalties kept coming.
Washington was outshot 10-1 over the final 12 minutes of the second period. Carolina built pressure. The Caps could not clear the puck.
The game turned in that stretch.
Caps coach Spencer Carbery said the team must learn to manage those shifts. He said the team made poor choices late in the second period. He said the Caps had to get the puck to a safe spot.
Ryan Leonard also took a late penalty. He slashed a player twice in the third period. Carbery benched him for the rest of the game.
Leonard had played well before that. He had two assists on the night.
Washington went 0-for-2 on its own power plays. Carolina went 1-for-5. That one goal was the winner.
Why it matters
Svechnikov is off to a hot start. He now has six goals and 11 points in eight games. That is his best start to a season.
He had four multi-point games in his last six, according to The Hockey Writers.
Sebastian Aho had two assists. He now has 13 points this season. His point streak reached seven games.
He and Svechnikov are carrying the offense.
Pyotr Kochetkov made 20 saves. He is now 4-0-0 in four starts. He has a 1.73 goals-against average.
He has a .911 save percentage, according to The Hockey Writers.
Jankowski kept his own streak alive. He has scored in five straight games. He now has five goals in eight games.
He is the third-line center. He is filling in with Jordan Staal out.
Staal will miss at least a month. He has a calf injury. The news came out earlier on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
Taylor Hall also left the game. He played less than four and a half minutes. He left with an apparent injury, according to Reuters.
For Washington, Logan Thompson made 31 saves. He kept the Caps in the game. The Caps lost their second game in a row.
The night also had a farewell feel. Alex Ovechkin is in his final NHL season. This was his last regular-season game in Raleigh.
The Capitals picked him in the 2004 draft. That draft took place in the same building, according to Reuters. Ovechkin had two shots on goal in 13 minutes.
What happens next
Carolina heads out on the road. The Hurricanes will play a Western Canada trip. They sit at the top of the Metropolitan Division.
Their last loss came against Washington on October 2.
Washington goes home. The Caps open a five-game home stand on Wednesday. They play Montreal first.
The Caps will want to fix their penalty trouble fast.
The two teams may meet again in the playoffs. Both look like contenders in the East. Tuesday showed how small the gap is.
One power-play goal was the whole difference.
The game was part of the NHL Frozen Frenzy night. All 32 teams played on the same night. You can read the full night in our Frozen Frenzy recap.
For another Frozen Frenzy result, see our Jets top line recap.
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