Hurricanes rally to hand Capitals 5th loss in row

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Sebastian Aho broke a tie on the power play with 1:51 remaining, and the Carolina Hurricanes rallied to defeat the Washington Capitals 4-2 at PNC Arena on Friday.

Aho made it 3-2 when he scored into an open net from low in the left face-off circle on the rebound of a shot by Brent Burns.

“That bounce was a little lucky, I get an empty cage,” Aho said. “But still, I thought we did a pretty good job on the power play tonight and got two goals.”

Jake Guentzel scored an empty-net goal with six seconds left for the 4-2 final.

Guentzel had two goals and an assist, Jaccob Slavin had two assists, and Pyotr Kochetkov made 14 saves for the Hurricanes (48-22-7), who are 9-2-1 in their past 12 games. Carolina trailed 2-0 after the first period.

The Hurricanes remained five points behind the New York Rangers for first place in the Metropolitan Division. New York defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 on Friday.

“Whether we won the game or not, I liked how we were going about our business,” Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. “It’s not necessarily how you draw it up, but I thought it was a solid 60 minutes.”

Alex Ovechkin scored two goals, including the 850th of his NHL career, and Dylan Strome had two assists for the Capitals (36-30-10), who are 0-4-1 in their past five. Darcy Kuemper made 42 saves.

The Capitals, who are tied with the Red Wings, remained one point behind the Philadelphia Flyers for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

“Guys were giving it all. That’s why it hurts at the end,” Washington forward Tom Wilson said. “It’s tough, but you see the care in this room, the pride.”

Each team completed a back-to-back Friday. The Capitals lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 at home Thursday, and the Hurricanes lost 4-1 to the Boston Bruins here that night.

“Obviously, we’re under siege for large portions of that game, but I thought our guys battled and tried to protect the lead,” Washington coach Spencer Carbery said. “We started to have some decent shifts where we were controlling a little bit of play, but disappointing results.”

Ovechkin put the Capitals ahead 1-0 at 3:31 of the first period. Kochetkov stopped Trevor van Riemsdyk’s shot through traffic, but Ovechkin put in the rebound at the top of the crease for No. 850.

Ovechkin then tipped John Carlson’s shot in the low slot to make it 2-0 with 45 seconds remaining in the period.

Kochetkov wasn’t tested regularly, but a pair of saves in the second period proved important. He made a right-pad save against Wilson on a breakaway at 13:40, before making a point-blank glove save on Connor McMichael six seconds later.

“The turning point for me was at 2-0 when we’re still trying to get into it,” Brind’Amour said. “We give them a breakaway and another Grade A (chance) right after, so now the game is not out of reach.”

Carolina cut it to 2-1 at 14:30 of the second period when Guentzel tracked down a stretch pass from Slavin and chipped the puck over Kuemper’s glove.

Guentzel has 20 points in 13 games (five goals, 15 assists) since he was acquired in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 7.

“I’m playing with good players, and [I’m] just getting the bounces right now,” Guentzel said. “You’ve got to be fortunate and take them as they come. I’m just trying to adjust to a new team. It’s been going good so far.”

Martin Necas tied it 2-2 with a power-play goal at 11:40 of the third when he one-timed a pass from Brady Skjei off the right post and into the net.

“I feel like you’ve got to shoot a little bit to break them down,” Necas said. “I’m confident in that shot, and if I get it there, I will keep shooting. Sometimes it goes post-in [or] post-out. Today it went in.”

NOTES: Ovechkin’s second goal was his 50th against the Hurricanes, giving him 104 points (54 assists) in 90 games. The 38-year-old forward has 11 goals in the past 11 games. … Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov missed the game with an illness. … Carolina has held opponents to 20 or fewer shots 14 times this season.