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Capitals, Hurricanes battle for Southeast supremacy

Feb 8, 2008 - 1:11 PM Carolina (26-26-4) at Washington (26-24-5) 7:00 pm EST

WASHINGTON (Ticker) - Alex Ovechkin has the Washington Capitals in a rare position - first place.

The Capitals will be looking to remain atop the Southeast Division when they host the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday.

Ovechkin has scored seven goals in the last four games to boost his league-leading total to 46. His third period tally Wednesday against the Philadelphia Flyers ended up as the game-winner in a 4-3 victory.

The third-year superstar has been on fire since signing a 13-year contract last month, leading the team to 11 wins in 16 games since the beginning of January. The surge has Washington one point ahead of the Hurricanes in the division.

The Capitals have not made the playoffs since the 2002-03 season, and would likely have to win the division to break that string of futility, as the Southeast currently ranks as the worst division the Eastern Conference, with none of the five teams in the top eight in the conference.

The Hurricanes had control of the division until dropping their last two games. Carolina - one of the top scoring teams in the game - managed a total of one goal in the two setbacks. They lost 1-0 to the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.

Carolina has lost seven of its last 11 games, managing one goal or less in four of the setbacks.

The teams have split four meetings this season, with the clubs combining for 21 goals.