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Capitals win in shootout, pick up a point on Hurricanes

Mar 26, 2008 - 4:21 AM By Joe Johnson PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

RALEIGH, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Viktor Kozlov recorded the only goal of the shootout to lead the Washington Capitals to a 3-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.

Washington 's third shooter in the bonus format, Kozlov beat goaltender Cam Ward with a high shot to the glove side. Alexander Semin and superstar Alex Ovechkin both were previously denied by Ward.

"It's an honor if the team trusts you for the shootout," Kozlov said. "It's a little bit easier for us shooting when (Cristobal Huet) has stopped the three before you. It takes some of the pressure off."

Huet stopped shots by Jeff Hamilton and Sergei Samsonov before Eric Staal hit the crossbar for Carolina (41-30-6), which saw its lead over Washington (38-31-8) in the Southeast Division shrink to four points.

Staal said he thought his shot was going in.

"I thought we played hard," Staal said. "I thought it was a hard-fought game both ways. We just didn't capitalize in that shootout to get that extra point. I hit the corner right up there where the crossbar and post meet, and caught it pretty square. It's tough hearing that noise if it's not in the back of the net after that."

"We're happy to get the win," Huet said. "It would have been worse to lose that game. We're happy for the two points, but it is going to be hard to catch them. I think there is another race, and we have to take the points for that one."

Semin and Ovechkin scored in regulation for Washington, which failed to gain ground on Boston (38-28-10) for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference as the Bruins skated past the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"All we can do is win," Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said. "We gained a point on (the Hurricanes), but we didn't lose any ground on Boston and Philly, who both won. We've just got to keep winning and hope for the best."

Playing with a sure sense of urgency, the Capitals recorded the first nine shots of the game. The Hurricanes did not register a shot on Huet until more than six minutes into the game.

"They realized the magnitude of the game and what's at stake here," Ward said. "There was no question they were going to come out hard, and we were able to weather the storm in the first 10 minutes of the first period."

Erik Cole and Hamilton scored for the Hurricanes, who had won three straight.

Hamilton gave Carolina a 1-0 lead when his shot from the point pinballed off the skates of several players before sneaking in for a power-play goal with 14 seconds left in the first period.

Semin answered on the man advantage at 7:15 of the second, when he converted a cross-crease pass from Sergei Fedorov.

The Capitals went ahead, 2-1, on Ovechkin's league-leading 61st goal midway through the period. The Russian took a pass from rookie Nicklas Backstrom, who had two assists, and beat Ward with a nifty shot from the slot.

"It's fun to score goals, especially when you break some records," Ovechkin said. "Right now, the situation is that a record is a record, and it is all about winning and the team.

"We still have five games and we're four points behind Carolina, so we just have to continue to play the game. Anything can happen. We have another game with them. We're watching, but we're not looking forward too much."

Ovechkin set a franchise record with the goal, eclipsing the single-season mark of 60 set by Dennis Maruk in 1981-82. The All-Star's previous career-high total was 52, set during his rookie campaign in 2005-06.

Ovechkin said he received a call after the morning skate from Maruk, who wished him luck.

"He told me to keep pushing forward," Ovechkin said.

Cole tied the game at 2-2 when he stuffed the puck past Huet with 3:33 left in the second. The play underwent a lengthy video review before the goal was allowed.