Ovechkin, Capitals end Hurricanes' 4-game winning streak

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Alex Ovechkin had a goal and an assist, and Logan Thompson made 30 saves for the Washington Capitals, who defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 at Lenovo Center on Tuesday.

Brandon Duhaime, Dylan Strome and Jakob Chychrun scored for the Capitals (8-7-1), who had lost two in a row. John Carlson had two assists.

“It was a pretty well-rounded game,” Washington coach Spencer Carbery said. “I thought the first period was excellent, the way you need to start in this building. As challenging as it is, you need to get out on your front foot.”

Nikolaj Ehlers scored for the Hurricanes (11-5-0), who had won four straight. Frederik Andersen made 24 saves before leaving the game with 5:10 remaining following a collision with Carolina captain Jordan Staal. Pyotr Kochetkov played 3:36 in relief.

“I give [the Capitals] credit because their game was on and they did what they had to do, especially at the start of the game,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “You could tell (what) their mindset was, and we were not sharp.”

Washington took a 1-0 lead at 5:42 of the first period. Ethen Frank received a pass out of the corner from Nic Dowd and made a backhand feed to Duhaime for a tap-in at the right post.

Duhaime has scored in two straight after a 14-game drought to start the season.

“Pretty slow start for me, but it’s nice to get a couple in the past two games to get the ball rolling here,” Duhaime said.

Strome took a pass from Ovechkin and scored top shelf with a snap shot from the right hash marks to make it 2-0 at 5:59 of the second period.

“It was that time of year where it kind of felt like a big game, being .500 and kind of needing a win,” Strome said. “I thought we were great up and down the lineup, penalty kill and power play.”

Thompson made a glove save on Jackson Blake off a rush, but Ehlers popped in the rebound near the right post to cut the lead to 2-1 at 13:56.

Thompson, however, made 13 saves in the second period and another 10 in the third.

“I was able to see everything tonight,” Thompson said. “So, I think it’s a credit to the five guys in front of me, making my life easy tonight.”

Carolina thought it tied the game at 8:10 after the puck poked through Thompson's pad and settled close to the goal line. Following an official review, though, the referees ruled the puck did not entirely cross the goal line.

The Capitals then made it 3-1 on the power play at 5:46 of the third period. Andersen stopped Ryan Leonard’s shot from the slot, but Chychrun was left alone in front and scored on the rebound. The goal was Chychrun's 100th in the NHL.

“They’re obviously a very aggressive PK, and we were able to make a play when we needed to and got a few good looks. Nice that one of them went in,” Chychrun said.

Ovechkin scored an empty-net goal, his 901st career goal, with 31 seconds remaining for the 4-1 final.

NOTES: Carlson extended his point streak to four games (two goals, four assists). ... Matt Roy played a season-high 25:15. … Brind’Amour did not have an update on Andersen after the game. … Hurricanes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere returned to the lineup after missing six games with a lower-body injury. He had an assist and one shot in 20:00. ... Ehlers extended his point streak to five games (three goals, three assists).