The Capitals fall to the Hurricanes 4-2 on Tuesday night in Raleigh. Andrei Svechnikov scored twice for Carolina, and his power play goal late in the third period broke a 2-2 tie. As a result, Washington has now lost two straight and sits at 3-3-0.
Meanwhile, Carolina keeps rolling. The Hurricanes have won six in a row and improved to 6-1-1. They also got some payback for an earlier loss. After all, Washington beat Carolina 5-2 on Oct. 2.
Jenner Strikes First Again
Washington started well at Lenovo Center. Boone Jenner scored at 9:26 of the first period to give the Caps a 1-0 lead. In fact, Jenner has now scored in three straight games. Ryan Leonard picked up the assist.
However, Carolina answered early in the second. Svechnikov tied the game at 3:58, with help from William Carrier and Sebastian Aho.
Holl Scores in His Capitals Debut
Next, Justin Holl put Washington back in front. The defenseman scored at 6:39 of the second period. Notably, it came in his first game with the Capitals after a call up from Hershey. Dylan Strome and Leonard assisted on the goal.
Still, the lead did not last. Eric Robinson tied it 2-2 at 18:49 of the second. Jackson Blake and Sean Walker set him up.
Svechnikov Wins It Late
The game stayed level for most of the third. Then Carolina went to the power play. At 13:56, Nikolaj Ehlers found Svechnikov, and he slipped a backhand past Logan Thompson. That goal held up as the winner.
Finally, Mark Jankowski added an empty net goal at 18:33 to seal it. Svechnikov earned an assist on that one, so he finished with three points. Jankowski has now scored in five straight games.
Thompson Kept Washington in It
Thompson did his part in net. He made 31 saves and kept the Caps close all night. On the other end, Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 20 shots for Carolina.
On the bright side, Leonard continues to produce. The young forward has five points in his last four games, with one goal and four assists.
Injuries Pile Up for Carolina
The win came at a cost for the Hurricanes. Taylor Hall left in the second period with an upper body injury and did not return. Afterward, coach Rod Brind’Amour said it “doesn’t look good.” Carolina is also without captain Jordan Staal. He is out one to two months with a torn calf muscle.
What It Means for the Caps
For Washington, this was a road loss to one of the hottest teams in the league. Even so, the Caps had it level with about six minutes left. In the end, one power play made the difference. Now they will look to stop the slide and get back over .500 next time out.