WASHINGTON – Justin Faulk scored the game-winner at 3:38 of overtime, Cam Ward stopped 46 shots, and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the skidding Washington Capitals 4-3 Tuesday night.
Faulk took a centering pass from Brandon Sutter and fired the puck past goaltender Michal Neuvirth to saddle Washington with its third successive defeat, although the Capitals did get a point by forcing overtime late in regulation.
After suffering two straight shutout losses, both at home, Washington went ahead 2-0 before Carolina came back to take the lead on a breakaway goal by Sutter at 1:45 of the third period. The tally came after Capitals defenseman Dennis Wideman took a futile whack at the bouncing puck in an effort to keep it in the Washington zone.
Washington forced overtime when Brooks Laich scored off a centering pass from Marcus Johansson at 17:08 of the third.
The defeat left Washington four points behind first-place Florida in the Southeast Division and two points in back of Winnipeg for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
It was the Hurricanes' eighth road win, still the fewest in the NHL.
Carolina captain Eric Staal extended his point-scoring streak to 12 games with an assist on the Hurricanes' first goal. Staal's streak, during which he's registered seven goals and 14 assists, is the longest by a Carolina player since the team moved from Hartford, Conn., before the 1997-98 season.
Troy Brouwer and Jay Beagle had goals for the Capitals and Neuvirth finished with 32 saves.
Brouwer notched his 18th goal of the season at 13:59 of the first period to end Washington's scoreless run at 133 minutes, 59 seconds. After firing a shot from the left circle, Brouwer plucked the puck off Ward's right skate, whisked around the net and put in a backhand from the right side for a 1-0 lead.
It was the Capitals' first goal against Carolina in three games, following shutout defeats of 3-0 on Jan. 20 and 5-0 on Feb. 20.
Beagle made it 2-0 at 4:11 of the second period by cashing in the rebound of Dmitry Orlov's shot from the left point. Beagle had gone 48 games since Dec. 28, 2010, without a goal.
Fifty seconds later, Carolina's Jiri Tlusty converted a centering pass from Jerome Samson. The Hurricanes tied it when Tim Gleason took a shot that bounced off the back boards to Chad LaRose, who beat Neuvirth from the left side at 8:30.
Soon after that, Orlov received a 10-minute misconduct penalty for shoving a linesman following an altercation with Carolina's Jeff Skinner.
The action-filled period didn't end until after the final buzzer, when officials determined that Beagle put the puck in the net an instant after time expired.
NOTES: The Capitals are 1-2-1 during the season-high five game homestand that ends Thursday. ... Carolina hasn't won in regulation at Washington since Dec. 28, 2009. ... The longest scoring streak in Hartford/Carolina history is 18 games, by Mike Rogers in 1980-81.
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