Sebastian Aho scored the winning goal within the final two minutes as the Carolina Hurricanes tallied four unanswered goals to beat the Washington Capitals 4-2 on Friday night in Raleigh, N.C.
Jake Guentzel scored twice in a three-point performance and Martin Necas scored once for the Hurricanes (48-22-7, 103 points). Goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov made 14 saves and Jaccob Slavin logged two assists.
Alex Ovechkin scored twice and Dylan Strome collected two assists for the Capitals (36-30-10, 82 points), who have fallen out of a playoff position due to a five-game swoon (0-4-1). Goalie Darcy Kuemper stopped 41 shots.
With his team down by a pair despite generating far more opportunities, Guentzel finally put one past Kuemper at 14:30 of the second period by chasing down a bouncing puck behind the defense and chipping it home.
Only a few minutes after Ovechkin ripped a shot off the crossbar with an effort that could have restored Washington’s two-goal edge, Necas tied the clash with a power-play goal at 11:40 of the third period. From just inside the left circle, Necas unloaded a one-timer off the post and in for his 24th of the season.
Aho potted the game winner with 1:51 remaining on the clock while on a power play because of a hooking penalty assessed to Capitals defenseman Rasmus Sandin. Brent Burns’ point shot was stopped, but Aho buried the rebound for his 34th goal of the campaign.
Guentzel, who was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins just before the trade deadline, rounded out the scoring with an empty-net goal, which gives him 27 on the season. He has a four-game point streak during which he has produced three goals and eight points.
The Capitals, who are one point out of a playoff position, received a perfect start when Ovechkin opened the scoring 3:31 into the clash. Trevor van Riemsdyk’s long point shot was stopped, but the Washington captain converted the rebound.
Despite Carolina firing 18 shots on net in the first period, Ovechkin doubled the lead with 44 seconds remaining in the opening frame. John Carlsson fired another long point shot that Ovechkin deflected for his 29th of the campaign in his 173rd career multi-goal game.
With his pair of tallies, Ovechkin is up to 851 in his career, which leaves him 43 behind Wayne Gretzky for the NHL’s all-time record.
–Field Level Media
