Ovechkin scores 39th, Capitals rally past Hurricanes in shootout

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Alex Ovechkin tied the game in the third period, then scored the only goal of the shootout to give the Washington Capitals a 4-3 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Friday.

Ovechkin made it 3-3 on the power play at 14:56 with a wrist shot from just above the left face-off circle. It was his 39th goal of the season, moving him within one of tying Wayne Gretzky for the most 40-goal seasons in NHL history (12).
"He wants it on his stick," Washington coach Peter Laviolette said. "He doesn't want to be on the bench, he wants to be out there making the difference. His release is something. He's a big-time player."
Evgeny Kuznetsov and John Carlson scored for the Capitals (35-18-10), who extended their point streak to eight games (7-0-1), including a 7-2 win at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday. Ilya Samsonov made 17 saves.
"I thought it was awesome," Laviolette said. "It might have been one of the best games we've played in all year. We had a real good response physically in the first period.
"There's teams that play fast, and Carolina is one of them, so you have to play at that speed. If you don't, you don't have the puck and you're not in the game. Our guys, I thought we did a good job of putting the hammer down."

Seth Jarvis scored two goals, and Antti Raanta made 37 saves for the Hurricanes (41-14-6), who have a 14-game home point streak (12-0-2). They were coming off a 3-2 loss at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.
"We weren't very good," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "We were still in a position to win there at the end. We capitalized on a couple chances we had. We didn't really generate anything. The mere fact that we were in a position to win, we were pretty fortunate."
Jarvis made it 1-0 at 5:17 of the first period when he cut to the slot and scored past Samsonov's blocker. The rookie forward had gone 18 games without a goal.
"It's probably the longest I went without a goal in my career," Jarvis said. "To get that one felt really nice, and it allowed me to stop thinking about it a bit."
Kuznetsov tied it 1-1 at 7:32 when he skated from behind the Washington net and scored from a sharp angle, extending his point streak to eight games.
Carlson put the Capitals ahead 2-1 at 10:45 with one-timer off a pass from Connor McMichael.
Trocheck tied it 2-2 at 7:06 of the second period when he took a pass from Ethan Bear and scored from between the circles.
Jarvis gave Carolina a 3-2 lead with 13 seconds left in the period after Jordan Staal passed to him across the slot.
"We felt really good about our game," Carlson said. "The last five minutes or so (of the second period), they weren't our best but they weren't that bad either. We felt confident in our game and how it was going for us. When things go well, you prove to yourself your capabilities."

Washington played without forward T.J. Oshie, who left the game Thursday with a lower-body injury.
"It's kind of how it's been all year, just kind of dealing with guys in and out," Carlson said. "Guys can step up and play bigger minutes and play bigger roles. I think you're seeing that day by day. It was a gutsy effort."
NOTES: Kuznetsov has scored 11 points (six goals, five assists) during his streak, tying the longest of his NHL career (2017-18 and 2018-19). … Ovechkin has scored five points (three goals, two assists) during a four-game point streak. … Carlson played a season-high and game-high 28:07. … The Capitals' plus-20 shot differential (40-20) was their largest of the season. … Washington forward Mike Vecchione played his third NHL game and his first since 2016-17 with the Philadelphia Flyers. He was minus-1 with three shots on goal in 5:06 of ice time. … Jarvis missed the previous three games with a hip injury. … The Hurricanes are 0-for-12 on the power play in the past five games. … Trocheck has scored four points (two goals, two assists) during a four-game point streak.