Ovechkin, Arnott back on ice for Washington
Maybe it was the desperation of the Carolina Hurricanes. Maybe it was the rust from two injured players just in the lineup. Maybe it was one soft third-period goal allowed.
But a disappointing start to the third period led to a rare blown lead for the Capitals, who eventually dropped a 3-2 shootout loss to Carolina on Tuesday night at Verizon Center. Hurricanes rookie center Jeff Skinner scored the game-tying goal in the third period and added the game-winner during the shootout.
“They’ve got to do whatever they can,” Caps defenseman John Carlson said. “But on our end we’ve got to be able to compete and beat any team that’s going to come hard because everyone is going to be fighting for their lives in the playoffs. I felt like some points in the game we were kind of coasting instead of pushing the envelope and I think that [hurt] us in the end.”
| Caps notes |
| » Washington had won the previous five games against Carolina this season. |
| » Washington has never swept the season series from the Hurricanes since that franchise moved from Hartford to North Carolina in 1997. |
| » Caps defenseman Dennis Wideman left the game at 5:04 of the second period. Wideman was hit by Carolina’s Tuomo Ruutu. He is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury but was seen favoring his right ankle as he hobbled off the ice. |
Washington goalie Semyon Varlamov (24 saves) last started a game at Verizon Center on Feb. 12 — a 4-1 loss to Los Angeles. A knee injury kept him sidelined from Feb. 20 until his start last Friday at Ottawa. Varlamov made several key saves early and stopped a Carolina penalty shot in the second period. But he failed to cover his right post just 106 seconds into the third period and Skinner beat him for the game-tying goal.
“Don’t want to get down on our goalies, though,” Caps coach Bruce Boudreau said. “They’ve been really good. They’re allowed to have a bad goal. We should be able to pick them up if that’s the case.”
Carolina took the lead at 2:29 of the second period with a power-play goal by Jussi Jokinen. Washington responded when Alex Semin roofed a shot over the left shoulder of Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward at 14:18.
Just 3:17 later, the Caps took a 2-1 lead. Semin pushed the puck into the offensive zone after a Carolina turnover and slipped the puck to rookie center Marcus Johansson, who drove the net hard and slid the puck under Ward for the goal.
Washington forward Alex Ovechkin (undisclosed injury) played for the first time since March 18. He had five shots on goal and five hits. Teammate Jason Arnott (lower-body injury) hadn’t played since March 13. He took a penalty and was on the ice for a goal against.
“I think it was like a playoff game for them,” Ovechkin said. “For us it’s good when we play against those kinds of teams. It helps us prepare for playoffs.”
