Hurricanes vs. Capitals: Andrei Svechnikov's Power-Play Winner Spoils Alex Ovechkin's Raleigh Farewell

Raleigh rose to its feet for Alex Ovechkin early in the first period, a standing ovation for a legend making what is scheduled to be his final visit. That was the last gift the building handed out. The Carolina Hurricanes spent the rest of the night making sure the guest of honor left empty-handed.

Andrei Svechnikov scored twice, including the go-ahead power-play goal with 6:04 left, and added an assist as the Hurricanes beat the Washington Capitals 4-2 on Tuesday night at Lenovo Center for their sixth straight win. Eric Robinson and Mark Jankowski also scored, and Pyotr Kochetkov made 20 saves to improve to 4-0-0.

A Farewell With Receipts

Ovechkin's history with this building runs deep. The 41-year-old, who is set to retire after this season, was the No. 1 pick in the 2004 NHL draft, which was held in Raleigh. According to the AP, his 59 points in 49 regular-season games here are the most he has recorded at any NHL arena other than Capital One Arena in Washington.

On this night, though, Carolina kept him quiet. Ovechkin did not register a point, and the Hurricanes did enough to turn the farewell into a footnote.

Washington Strikes, Twice

The Capitals actually controlled the early going. Sean Walker blocked a Ryan Leonard shot at 9:26 of the first, but Leonard grabbed his own rebound and found Boone Jenner, who beat Kochetkov on the short side for a 1-0 lead. Jenner, one of Washington's top free-agent additions, has now scored in three straight games.

Carolina tied it at 3:58 of the second. Logan Thompson turned away two William Carrier chances, but Svechnikov dug the puck out from under the goalie's left pad and poked it across the line. Washington answered at 6:39 with an unlikely scorer. Justin Holl, playing his first game for the Capitals after a recall from Hershey of the American Hockey League on Monday, fired through a screen from the top of the right circle to make it 2-1.

The Turning Point: A Late Second-Period Equalizer

The game swung in the final minutes of the second. Jackson Blake threaded a pass through the neutral zone for his team-best seventh assist, and Robinson's shot deflected off the stick of Washington defenseman Martin Fehervary and past Thompson at 18:49. It was 2-2, and from there Carolina took over.

Carolina outshot Washington 27-12 over the second and third periods, according to NHL.com. "They started tilting the ice on us in the latter half of the second period, and it kind of continued in the third period," Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun said.

The pressure finally broke through in the third. Justin Sourdif went to the box for tripping at 13:49, and Carolina needed only a handful of seconds to strike. Nikolaj Ehlers fed Svechnikov out of the corner, Svechnikov pulled Thompson across the crease and lifted a backhand in at 13:56 for a 3-2 lead.

"'Fly' made a nice play there, and I just had to finish it," Svechnikov said.

With Thompson pulled, Svechnikov and Sebastian Aho set up Jankowski for an empty-netter at 18:33. That goal stretched Jankowski's scoring streak to five games.

Star Watch

Andrei Svechnikov: Two goals and an assist in 21:29. All six of his goals this season have come in his past five games, and it was his third multipoint game in four outings, per NHL.com. "To be honest, it wasn't a great start, but we kind of flipped over," he said. Coach Rod Brind'Amour was not surprised. "This is kind of the player we all know he is capable of (being)," he said.

Sebastian Aho: Two assists, extending his point streak to seven games, with 13 points in that span.

Eric Robinson: The tying goal, plus four hits in 14:49.

Pyotr Kochetkov: 20 saves on 22 shots, still unbeaten at 4-0-0.

Ryan Leonard: Two assists for Washington, extending his point streak to four games, though he also spent four minutes in the box.

Logan Thompson: 31 saves on 34 shots, keeping the Capitals within reach until the power play broke them.

Stats That Matter

• 6: Consecutive wins for Carolina.
• 27-12: Carolina's shot advantage over the final two periods.
• 35-22: Total shots, also in Carolina's favor.
• 21: Shots blocked by Washington, compared with 12 for Carolina. The Capitals were in survival mode for long stretches.
• 1 for 5: Carolina's power play. Not pretty, but the one that counted decided the game. Washington went 0 for 2.

What It Means

Carolina improves to 6-1-1 with 13 points. The last team to beat the Hurricanes was Washington, which won 5-2 in this same building on Oct. 2. Carolina did this without captain Jordan Staal, who the team announced earlier Tuesday will miss at least a month with a calf injury, according to the AP. It also lost Taylor Hall, who left in the second period with an upper-body injury and did not return. Brind'Amour said it "doesn't look good." The Hurricanes open a five-game road trip Saturday in Winnipeg. "It feels like these last couple games for sure the boys have been clicking," Blake said.

Washington falls to 3-3-0 and has dropped two straight. The Capitals host Montreal on Wednesday. Coach Spencer Carbery pointed to growing pains. "It's a hard league, and everyone here knows it," he said. "We've got a lot of young players who are learning to play in this league for the first time."

Closing Take

Farewell tours usually come with a highlight video and a nice parting gift. Raleigh gave Ovechkin the applause and kept the two points. Respect and ruthlessness can share a building. Brind'Amour, meanwhile, sounded like a coach whose team has found its formula. "We're at a point now where we're pretty confident in what works. It's just a matter of getting to it," he said. Six straight wins says they are getting there pretty often.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details from the Associated Press; postgame quotes and notes as reported by NHL.com.