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Brind'Amour's two goals help Hurricanes edge Capitals

Dec 1, 2007 - 5:04 AM By Barry Smith PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

RALEIGH, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Captain Rod Brind'Amour and the Carolina Hurricanes gained a small measure of revenge.

Brind'Amour scored twice and Cam Ward made 31 saves as the Hurricanes posted a 4-3 victory over the Washington Capitals on Friday.

Cory Stillman and Matt Cullen also tallied for Carolina, which snapped a two-game losing streak.

Included in that mini-skid was a 5-2 loss to Washington on Saturday, a setback in which Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin scored two goals to extend his points streak to nine games.

Despite Ovechkin tallying twice again in this one, the Hurricanes managed to squeak out the win.

After the 2006 Calder Trophy winner gave Washington an early lead with a power-play goal 2:35 into the game, Carolina answered midway through the first period.

Eric Staal unleashed a shot from the right side of the net, but the puck popped into the air. After it hit him in the chest, Stillman gained control and swatted it past goaltender Olaf Kolzig to even the contest at 1-1.

"It was a goal we needed to get momentum," Stillman said. "We threw the puck at the net and had two bodies in front of it. I was fortunate that it hit me and had an empty net to bury it in."

Each team nearly scored another goal in the first session. Ovechkin originally was awarded his second goal of the night 14:33 into the period, but it was waved off after replays showed he intentionally knocked the puck in with his skate.

Later, Ovechkin tripped Chad LaRose on a breakaway, giving the checking center a penalty-shot opportunity. However, LaRose hesitated momentarily and tripped over Kolzig at the top of the crease, with the puck sliding to the right of the net.

Carolina took the lead for good at 5:46 into the second period, when Ray Whitney took the puck from behind the net and passed it to a charging Cullen, who scored on a wrister to give the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead.

Brind'Amour doubled the advantage when he deflected a shot by defenseman Tim Gleason past Kolzig with 5:59 left in the middle session.

Washington had another tally waved off late in the second. With time winding down, defenseman Mike Green appeared to score, but the goal was disallowed after replay officials determined the puck did not cross the goal line when time expired.

Ovechkin netted his second man-advantage goal just 32 seconds in the final period to cut the deficit to 3-2. An All-Star last season, the 6-2, 217-pound Russian took the puck off the boards and deked two defenders before blasting a shot past Ward.

"They took it to us most of the game," Brind'Amour said of the Capitals' play. "Their power play was looking pretty good."

Ovechkin believed the goal was a result of good communication between himself and countryman Alexander Semin.

"(Semin) was telling me, 'Go, go go,' so I went to the net," Ovechkin said.

But Brind'Amour capped his second two-goal game of the season when his pass attempt from behind the net bounced off the stick of Kolzig, hit the tip of Ovechkin's and went into the net at 3:47 of the session.

Brind'Amour believed the breaks were going his way Friday.

"The other night, I played pretty well and got nothing," he said. "Tonight, I played horribly and got a couple of goals."

"I think we have to play the same way again," Ovechkin said. "This was our game. They had some lucky goals."

Washington had a two-man advantage in the final moments after Justin Williams was called for a delay-of-game penalty with 93 seconds remaining. The Capitals unleashed a flurry of shots but were unable to get one past Ward.

"It was a tough play where Willie got that penalty when he was trying to do the right thing by hitting it off the glass and out, and it went over the glass," said Ward, who faced 16 shots in the final session. "All you can do is battle. It was 6-on-4, and you're at a disadvantage."

Carolina coach Peter Laviolette thinks his team has to get tougher defensively to help out Ward.

"There were guys standing in front of our net and nobody was getting knocked down," Laviolette said. "(Capitals center Michael) Nylander just standing there by himself is unacceptable. We've got to get tougher, especially right in front of Cam."

Nylander scored with 4:07 remaining and Kolzig made 15 saves for the Capitals, who finished November with a 3-10-2 record.

Capitals interim coach Bruce Boudreau wants more players to get involved in the team's offense.

"It's not hard to play against us if Alex and his linemates are the only ones producing on the power play," Boudreau said.