Goalie Braden Holtby made 40
saves as the Capitals ran their winning streak to seven with their fifth
straight win over Carolina this season.
Ovechkin scored his 28th goal
of the season to extend his points streak to seven games.
Carolina's Tuomo Ruutu scored
late in the second period to briefly give his team the lead. The Hurricanes are
two points behind the New York Rangers for eighth place in the Eastern
Conference.
In Dallas,
defenseman Trevor Daley ignited a three-goal flurry over in 1:31 span in the
second period that propelled Dallas to a big win over Minnesota.
Kari Lehtonen made 14 saves
for his 15th career shutout while Tom Wandell and Mike Ribeiro added
second-period goals for the Stars, 6-0-2 in their past eight games.
Jamie Benn scored a goal in
his sixth consecutive game to help Dallas move to fourth in the Western
Conference playoff race with 82 points.
The Wild, 0-10-4 in their
past 14 road games against the Stars, were shut out for the second consecutive
night.
In
Columbus, Los Angeles inflicted a seventh straight loss on Columbus.
Anze Kopitar had his second
career three-goal game, picking up the hat trick by midway through the second
period.
Jonathan Bernier stopped 32
shots while Justin Williams had a goal and two assists for the Kings.
Scottie Upshall and Derick
Brassard scored for the Blue Jackets.
In
Uniondale, New York, Matt Moulson, Michael Grabner and Jack Hillen scored in a
6-minute span in the second and third periods to help New York overcome Boston.
P.A. Parenteau added an
empty-net goal, and Al Montoya made 26 saves for New York.
Nathan Horton and Zdeno Chara
scored for the Bruins.
Chara, booed every time he
touched the puck, was playing his second game since his check on Max Pacioretty
that sent the Montreal left wing to the hospital with a severe concussion and a
fractured vertebra.
In
Tampa, Curtis McElhinney made 34 saves in his debut for Ottawa to beat Tampa Bay.
McElhinney was claimed off
waivers from the Lightning but never played for Tampa Bay, which obtained him
four days earlier in a trade with Anaheim.
Jason Spezza opened the
scoring midway through the first period on a power play, and Bobby Butler
scored 53 seconds into the second to make it 2-0.
Tampa Bay held a two-man
advantage when Martin St. Louis tipped in a rebound 2:53 into the third period.
Ottawa had killed the prior 33 consecutive penalties over 10 games.
In
Detroit, Pavel Datsyuk scored with 42 seconds left in overtime as Detroit beat
Edmonton after only tying the game in the final seconds of regulation thanks to
a lucky deflection.
The Oilers were only 25
seconds from victory when Nicklas Lidstrom's shot from the point deflected off
Edmonton's Andrew Cogliano high in the slot and slid into the net to make it
1-1.
In overtime, Datsyuk took a
pass from Johan Franzen, dragged the puck around a sliding Oiler and beat the
goalie with a wrist shot.
Ryan Jones scored in the
first period for Edmonton.
In
Denver, Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and two assists to help Anaheim beat slumping
Colorado.
Corey Perry and Saku Koivu
each had a goal and an assist while Bobby Ryan, Brad Winchester and Dan Sexton
also scored for the Ducks, who are ninth in the Western Conference, two points
behind Los Angeles, Chicago, Phoenix and Calgary.
David Jones and Ryan O'Reilly
scored for Colorado.
In
Atlanta, Travis Zajac scored on a power play 4:18 into overtime to lift surging
New Jersey over Atlanta.
Zajak also had a power-play
goal in the second period, and Ilya Kovalchuk added his 25th goal - also on a
power play - for New Jersey. The Devils are 21-3-2 since Jan. 8.
Blake Wheeler and Dustin
Byfuglien scored for the Thrashers who have just three regulation wins in the
past 33 games.
