Svechnikov, Hurricanes defeat Capitals in shootout

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Andrei Svechnikov scored his eighth goal of the season, and the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Washington Capitals 3-2 in a shootout at PNC Arena on Monday.

Stefan Noesen also scored, and Frederik Andersen made 18 saves for the Hurricanes (6-2-1), who have won three of their past four games. Martin Necas had two assists.
Dylan Strome and Alex Ovechkin scored for the Capitals (5-4-1). Darcy Kuemper made 33 saves.
Brent Burns and Svechnikov scored in the shootout for Carolina.
"We had the puck a lot," Andersen said. "I think that made it [tougher] for me. They didn't really fire a lot of easy ones. They were battling for their chances."

Noesen's power-play goal made it 1-0 at 4:27 of the first period when he redirected Burns' shot from the left point for his first goal with the Hurricanes.
"I kind of take pride in that," Noesen said. "It's something I work on all the time. I always want tips. It's something I love doing."
The goal came on the first of six Carolina power plays.
"They scored on their first opportunity, which is sometimes tough for the guys, but we dug in," Kuemper said. "[We] probably had a few more kills than we wanted to, but we were able to kill them off. That was huge tonight."
Strome tied it 1-1 at 1:23 of the second period. Andersen stopped Nick Jensen's shot, but Strome got position on Sebastian Aho at the top of the crease to score on the rebound.
"I was kind of alone in front of the net there with Aho, then tipped it a bit and it was just sitting there," Strome said. "It got us back into the game. Big goal at the time."
The Capitals scored on the power play to take a 2-1 lead at 8:57 when Erik Gustafsson set up Ovechkin for a short-side one-timer from the left face-off circle.
Ovechkin's goal was the 785th career of his NHL career, bringing him to within one of Gordie Howe's (Detroit Red Wings) single-team goal record.
Svechnikov, who also scored the winning shootout goal, tied it 2-2 at 15:42. Paul Stastny redirected a shot from Necas, and Svechnikov jumped on the rebound.
He is tied for second in the NHL with eight goals; Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid has nine.
"I thought it was a really hard-fought game," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "I'm really happy with it. I like that we stuck with what we were trying to do and didn't really get away from it."

Washington killed tripping penalties on Marcus Johansson with 1:55 left in regulation and Lars Eller at 2:09 in overtime.
"I don't like the way the end of the game unfolded," Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said. "We didn't get a chance to win it. Then it got to the shootout and they were better than us in the shootout."
The Capitals were without forward T.J. Oshie and defenseman John Carlson, who suffered lower-body injuries in a 3-0 win at the Nashville Predators on Saturday. Oshie is out indefinitely, while Carlson is day to day.
NOTES: Evgeny Kuznetsov scored in the shootout for Washington. ...Laviolette won his 723rd game, passing Alain Vigneault for eighth on the NHL all-time list. … Ovechkin has 99 points (47 goals, 52 assists) in 86 games against Carolina. ... Washington defenseman Matt Irwin was minus-1 with one shot, four hits and one blocked shot in 11:00 in his season debut. … Burns has two goals and two assists in a four-game point streak. … Necas has six points (two goals, four assists) in a four-game point streak.