National Hockey League
Washington 4, Carolina 3
When: 7:30 PM ET, Friday, December 16, 2016
Where: PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina
Referees: Tom Kowal, Evgeny Romasko
Linesmen: Derek Amell, Shane Heyer
Attendance: 11892

RALEIGH, N.C. -- It's no coincidence the Washington Capitals haven't lost since T.J. Oshie has returned to the lineup.

Oshie scored late in the third period to tie it and added a shootout goal as the Washington Capitals won their sixth straight, defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3.

"If he's not the best in the league, he's one of the best," Washington coach Barry Trotz said of Oshie's shootout skills. "He makes it look way too easy. He's a big part of our team, there's no question about that. We missed his ability on the power play too, and just the energy he brings to the team and his personality."

Oshie was out for seven games from Nov. 20-Dec. 5 with an injury, but was back to where he's comfortable Friday night -- in the shootout -- notching his 37th career shootout goal.

"No, not at all," Oshie said when asked if shootout goals are virtually automatic for the right winger. "I didn't watch the video today so I was trying to remember what I did last time against (Cam Ward) and tried to switch it up a little bit. He bit on it and it went in. It worked out."

Washington (19-7-3) snapped Carolina's seven-game home winning streak as Oshie notched his 18th career game-deciding goal in the shootout. Evgeny Kuznelsov also scored in the shootout against Ward as the Hurricanes fell to 12-12-6.

Ward is now 16-39 all-time in shootouts.

"We can show them tendencies of the opposition and then the players have to come up with what they think they can do and what's gonna work," Carolina coach Bill Peters said of his team's lack of success in shootouts this season, falling to 1-4.

Teuvo Teravainen scored his eighth of the season just eight seconds after Nicklas Backstrom was called for holding, redirecting a shot by Sebastian Aho in the high slot past Philipp Grubauer to give the Hurricanes a 3-2 lead before Oshie notched his 10th with 6:04 left to tie the score and send the game into overtime.

Washington managed just eight shots midway through the second period, but scored twice, getting goals from Alex Ovechkin and Justin Williams over a span of five minutes. Ovechkin's goal was just his second in 10 games since registering a hat trick on Nov. 23. Meanwhile, Williams, the former Hurricane, is starting to get hot, notching his fifth goal in the last five games.

"I certainly had a real tough start to the season and I'm starting to feel better out there and a few bounces are starting to go my way. That one felt good to get on Cam, I have never scored against him before. I gave him a wink on the way by. He just shook his head."

"Yes, the last few games we've won, but we've just played better," Williams added. "And we didn't give up when some calls didn't go our way. That's just the way it is sometimes and you have to battle through it. I love the way we persevered."

Ovechkin's 14th of the season was just the seventh power-play goal surrendered by Carolina, the NHL's top penalty-killing club at 92.3 percent. In fact, it was just the third power-play goal allowed by the Hurricanes since Oct. 30.

Washington wasn't able to hold the lead for long as Justin Faulk executed a perfect 2-on-1 with Aho 2:18 after the Williams goal to tie the score 2-2 heading into the third. It was Faulk's fifth of the season and second in as many games.

Jeff Skinner scored his team-leading 12th of the season for Carolina less than six minutes in, fighting off Washington defenseman Matt Niskanen in the crease after taking a pass from Derek Ryan, who now has points in five straight games as the Hurricanes grabbed an early 1-0 lead.

"Carolina is a very dangerous team," Trotz said. "They have lots of young guys who can make plays and they get up the ice real well."

NOTES: Carolina's last eight-game home winning streak was in 2010. ... Washington LW Andre Burakovsky, with just two goals (both in the season opener) in 27 games, was a healthy scratch for a second straight game. ... Carolina rookie Sebastian Aho scored his first two career goals in the season's first meeting against Washington. ... Capitals G Philipp Grubauer was given another shot at the Hurricanes after allowing four goals in his Nov. 12 start in Raleigh. ... Washington LW Alex Ovechkin came into the game with the 14th-most points (76) all-time by a Hurricanes' opponent. ... Carolina backup G Eddie Lack missed the last 13 games with a concussion.
Top Game Performances
 
Washington   Carolina
Matt Niskanen 2 Points Teuvo Teravainen 2
T.J. Oshie 1 Goals Teuvo Teravainen 1
Matt Niskanen 2 Assists Sebastian Aho 2
Alex Ovechkin 1 Power Play Goals Teuvo Teravainen 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Philipp Grubauer .900 Save Percentage Cam Ward .885
Philipp Grubauer 27 Saves Cam Ward 23
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Washington 26 4 1-2 5-6 12 25
Carolina 30 3 1-6 1-2 4 33
Upcoming Games
  • Carolina will play their next game at home against Buffalo. The Hurricanes have a W/L % of .308 after a win and .471 after a loss.
  • Washington will play their next game at home against Montreal. The Capitals have a W/L % of .684 after a win and .600 after a loss.