Capitals defeat Hurricanes for third straight win without Ovechkin goal

WASHINGTON-- T.J. Oshie and Chandler Stephenson scored second-period goals for the Washington Capitals in a 3-1 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at Capital One Arena on Thursday.

John Carlson scored his first goal since October and had an assist, and Braden Holtby made 28 saves for Washington (23-10-3), which has won three straight and eight of nine.
WATCH: [All Hurricanes vs. Capitals highlights]
"Any rust or plays that weren't perfect tonight were kind of expected, and my thought process was to continue and move forward as the game went on and get better and better," Capitals coach Todd Reirden said of the first game after a three-day holiday break. "It was a good win for us."
Sebastian Aho scored a third-period goal, and Petr Mrazek made 30 saves for Carolina (15-16-5).
"Can't fault him on anything," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said of Mrazek. "He made some big saves there early to keep us in it. At least we had a chance at the end and that was because Petr played really well."
Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin had an assist but did not score for a fourth straight game. He leads the NHL with 29 goals and is trying to join Mike Gartner as the only players to begin their NHL career with 14 straight 30-goal seasons.
The Capitals took a 1-0 lead at 3:33 of the second period when Stephenson took advantage of a Hurricanes turnover in their end and scored his fourth of the season.

"I don't think we [were] ready enough to play in the first and second," Aho said. "We gave way too many turnovers and they're a top team in the League. They can score, so we cannot give them those opportunities."
Oshie made it 2-0 when he deflected Carlson's shot on a power play at 18:16. The Capitals had failed to score on 19 power plays over five games.

"John made a great play. Shot to an area where I could tip," Oshie said. "You just try to get a stick on it. I don't think you plan for it to round your blade and go far side. But kind of right place, right time."
Aho made it 2-1 on a rebound at 12:25 of the third period. The Capitals then killed a Hurricanes power play that began with 3:48 left, and Carlson scored his first goal since Oct. 22 into an empty net with 51 seconds remaining to make it 3-1.

The Hurricanes were 0-for-4 on the power play.
"I think we … went out there with a good plan and executed," Holtby said. "I didn't think we gave them much for free. They had to work for everything and that's a good [penalty kill]."

They said it

"Unfortunately, we don't have the killer instinct that we need out there on the power play and that's what was evident tonight." - Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour
"[Holtby] seems to always be on his game. Really a rare time where he's not, or hardly ever. That's Braden; you always know what you're getting from him every night." - Capitals forward Chandler Stephenson

Need to know

Washington defenseman Matt Niskanen left the game after hitting the boards with 8:21 remaining. Reirden did not have an update on his condition. ... Aho has 13 points (eight goals, five assists) in his past nine games. ... Washington has a point in 16 of its past 21 games against Carolina (15-5-1). ... Backstrom had an assist and has 22 points (six goals, 16 assists) in his past 18 games.

What's next

Hurricanes: At the New Jersey Devils on Saturday (1 p.m. ET; SN, MSG+, FS-CR, NHL.TV)
Capitals: At the Ottawa Senators on Saturday (7 p.m.; SN360, CITY, NBCSWA+, NHL.TV)