Logan Thompson made 30 saves as the Washington Capitals won for the second time in their last eight games, beating the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 on Tuesday night in Raleigh, N.C.
Alex Ovechkin, who notched an empty-net goal to go with an earlier assist, finished with a two-point night, while Brandon Duhaime, Dylan Strome and Jakob Chychrun also scored for the Capitals. John Carlson added two assists for Washington, which had lost two in a row.
Nikolaj Ehlers scored for the Hurricanes, who had been riding a four-game winning streak despite near-constant lineup changes because of injuries. Carolina failed to convert on a late third-period power play even after pulling the goalie, dashing its bid for a comeback.
Frederik Andersen made 24 saves for Carolina before Pyotr Kochetkov replaced him in the net with less than five minutes to play following teammate Jordan Staal falling on his starting netminder.
The Hurricanes were 0-for-5 on power plays, continuing a trend of difficulty with that unit.
Washington’s Ethen Frank delivered a pass to Duhaime for a close-range shot and a 1-0 lead 5:42 into the game. Strome’s goal made it 2-0 six minutes into the second period.
The goal from Ehlers, who has scored all three of his goals across a five-game stretch, came with 6:04 left in the second period. Shayne Gostisbehere, who was activated from the injured list earlier in the day, had one of the assists on that goal.
After Chychrun’s goal off a rebound on a power play 5:46 into the third period, the Hurricanes nearly cut the gap back to one goal. But based on video review, it was determined the puck didn’t cross the goal line.
The teams squared off with skirmishes after Washington’s Nic Dowd plowed into Andersen behind the net with five minutes left in the first period. There was a spirited scrap between Washington’s Martin Fehervary and Carolina’s Logan Stankoven.
Thompson stopped 13 of 14 shots in the middle frame and all 10 attempts in the third period. His league-leading GAA dropped to 1.61.
–Field Level Media
