Hurricanes 3 - 4 Capitals
Final - OT
  for this game

Backstrom's OT strike gets Caps past Hurricanes

Nov 9, 2014 - 6:49 AM Washington, DC (SportsNetwork.com) - Nicklas Backstrom netted the winning score with 14 seconds remaining in overtime, giving Washington a 4-3 decision over Carolina at Verizon Center.

Alexander Ovechkin carried the puck over the blue line from the right wing and uncorked a long shot which Anton Khudobin kicked away, but Backstrom was alone on the left wing to shuttle the rebound home to end the contest.

"I tried to focus on the first shot. The rebound was unlucky, I would say," Khudobin said. "It's just a tough loss."

Troy Brouwer, Jay Beagle and Eric Fehr also lit the lamp for the Capitals, while Justin Peters contributed 24 stops in the club's second straight win.

Riley Nash, Eric Staal and Elias Lindholm tallied for the Hurricanes, whose four-game win streak came to a halt. Khudobin finished with 35 saves.

Brouwer scored on the Caps' first power-play chance with almost 7 1/2 minutes played in the opening period. He tracked a Marcus Johansson shot, then snuck into the slot and popped the puck over a goalmouth scramble.

Beagle's bank-shot from behind the goal line at 15:57 doubled the hosts' edge, but a slapper from Nash on a Hurricanes advantage inside of a minute left put the visitors on the board.

Fehr notched the lone score of the second, with 3:12 remaining. He picked up a loose puck in his offensive zone from the right-wing boards, moved around Staal and beat Khudobin on the forehand inside the right post.

Carolina rallied to tie in the third. Staal's one-timer got past Peters with 8:38 elapsed, then a seeing-eye shot from Justin Faulk from the left circle was deflected by Lindholm with 6:07 to play.

"(That goal) could've deflated us, but we kept going and got a big goal at the end," Fehr said.

Game Notes

Ovechkin drew his 400th career assist on Backstrom's deciding goal ... Washington improved to 2-3 in overtime this season and Carolina fell to 1-3 ... The Capitals continue their brief homestand on Tuesday by welcoming Columbus, and the Hurricanes host Calgary on Monday ... Washington winger Tom Wilson left the game in the second period with a lower-body injury, while Caroline blueliner John-Michael Liles left early in overtime after absorbing an open-ice hit.






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