Stephen Whyno, a writer for the Associated Press covering hockey, reported…

WASHINGTON

The Carolina Hurricanes were not fazed by a two-goal deficit, despite their struggles at the beginning of the season where they often found themselves in an early disadvantage.

The Hurricanes are in a good position after their 6-2 win against the Washington Capitals on Friday night. They have come a long way since October, as shown by their six unanswered goals. The team has been on a five-game winning streak and has not lost since the Christmas break, establishing themselves as one of the top teams in the NHL halfway through the season.

Brent Burns, defenseman for the team, acknowledged that it has been a tough start to the year. Despite scoring two goals, they have not been achieving the desired outcomes. They will need to string together some victories and build momentum. However, since coming back from the break, they have been performing well. The key is to maintain this momentum moving forward.

Andrei Svechnikov scored a goal and provided two assists, extending his streak of multiple-point games to six. Sebastian Aho also contributed with three assists, while Pyotr Kochetkov earned his 11th win of the season after making 15 saves.

Seth Jarvis equalized the game in the beginning of the third period, completing a comeback from being down 2-0. With 7:19 remaining, Svechnikov scored on a power play to take the lead for the Hurricanes. He also assisted on Burns’ second goal of the game less than 90 seconds later.

Svechnikov stated that their team’s strategy is to constantly push forward even when they’re behind. This approach proved successful for them today.

Former Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov scored into an empty net from 183 feet away, and Vasily Ponomarev beat Darcy Kuemper in the final minute to give himself two points in his NHL debut.

Three of their top nine forwards were unavailable due to injuries and illness. Jesper Fast and Martin Necas were injured while Stefan Noesen was out due to illness. Ponomarev, who was called up earlier in the day from AHL Chicago, arrived at the arena just two hours before the game to play.

Ponomarev, who attended his first NHL game in Washington in 2017, admitted, “I may appear calm, but I am always nervous.” However, he remained focused on the game and did his best.

Kuemper let in five goals out of 33 shots while playing goalie for the Capitals. The team has now lost two games in a row and six out of their last seven. Two consecutive slashing penalties from Beck Malenstyn and Evgeny Kuznetsov led to Carolina scoring power-play goals in the third period.

“It’s not significant since we should not have been in that position,” stated Capitals coach Spencer Carbery. “The game was heavily one-sided, so yes, they took advantage, but it’s bound to happen when you’re constantly playing defensively like that.”

Prior to that, Nic Dowd scored a goal and Alex Ovechkin’s point streak reached four games as he assisted in Dylan Strome’s power-play goal. Ovechkin has scored two goals and has three assists in this span of games.

In addition, Washington had one less regular player on the ice due to defenseman Rasmus Sandin being absent due to illness.

According to Carbery, T.J. Oshie went back to his hometown in Minnesota to get treatment for an injury that has kept him sidelined since December 17. Another winger, Sonny Milano, participated in the team’s morning practice but is still recovering from an upper-body injury and is expected to be out for at least another week.

Max Pacioretty, a winger, made his season debut for Washington on Wednesday against New Jersey. He had only played five games with Carolina last season before re-injuring his right Achilles tendon. Despite hitting the crossbar on his best scoring opportunity of the night, his presence was a welcomed reinforcement for Washington.

UP NEXT

The Hurricanes will begin a six-game stretch at home on Saturday as they face off against St. Louis.

On Sunday, the Los Angeles Kings will face the Capitals.

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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

Source: wralsportsfan.com