Alexander Semin and Alexander Ovechkin scored in the shootout as their Washington Capitals defeated the Carolina Hurricanes by a score of 5 to 4. With this win, the Capitals improved to 43-21-6 while the Hurricanes fell to 36-28-7. The win also snapped a 4-game home losing streak for Washington.
“We’re a good team,” said Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau. “Good teams don’t lose forever.”
Erik Cole scored the first goal of the game in front of 18,277 at Verizon Center midway through the first period. However, 66 seconds later, Mike Green scored the equalizer to tie the game at 1. Alexander Ovechkin would then score his league-leading 49th goal of the year to give Washington a 2-1 lead heading into the second period.
In the second period, Semin scored on the power play to give the Capitals a 3-1 lead. Erik Staal cut the Washington lead in half, but Nicklas Backstrom restored the 2-goal lead with a power play goal of his own. However, with less than 8 seconds left in the second period, Ray Whitney’s 23rd goal of the season put Carolina to within one goal heading into the third period.
Only one goal was scored in the final period of regulation, and it was scored by Carolina defenseman Niclas Wallin; Wallin’s second goal of the year sent the game into overtime. Unfortunately, for Carolina, it was not enough as the Capitals ended up winning the extra point in the playoff race.
