Brind'Amour scores twice as Carolina clips Columbus

Rod Brind'Amour scored twice and Martin
Gerber made 25 saves to help Carolina hold off the Columbus Blue
Jackets 2-1 Thursday night, giving the Hurricanes consecutive home
victories for the first time since early November.

• Brind'Amour scores twice as Carolina clips Columbus

UNDATED: Tom Golisano.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Rod Brind'Amour scored twice and Martin
Gerber made 25 saves to help Carolina hold off ...

• UNDATED: Tom Golisano.

Ovechkin nets 47th in Washington win

Dynamic rookie Alexander Ovechkin scored his 47th goal, Matt Pettinger added a short-handed score and the Washington Capitals snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night.

It was Pettinger's fifth with his team down a man, tying him for the best in the NHL, as Washington won for the first time since beating Pittsburgh 2 1/2 weeks ago.

• Ovechkin nets 47th in Washington win

Capitals-Hurricanes, Sums

Washington 1 1 1-3

Carolina 0 0 1-1

First Period-1, Washington, Ovechkin 47 (Laich), 1:50. Penalties-Commodore, Car (holding), 4:10; Williams, Car (delay of game), 10:17; A.Ward, Car (holding), 12:05; Eminger, Was (slashing), 19:18.

Second Period-2, Washington, Pettinger 18 (Morrisonn), :46 (sh). Penalties-Carolina bench, served by Ladd (too many men), 2:25; Wesley, Car (slashing), 9:18; Willsie, Was (interference), 9:59; A.

• Capitals-Hurricanes, Sums

Three sit for Hurricanes, Vasicek takes part in pregame skate

The Carolina Hurricanes were without three veterans Saturday night against the Washington Capitals, with center Doug Weight and defensemen Bret Hedican and Niclas Wallin out with lower-body injuries.

Before the game, the Hurricanes called up right wing Keith Aucoin from Lowell of the AHL to provide depth.

Weight came to the team in a Jan. 30 trade with St. Louis, and had only one assist in the first 10 games with Carolina.

• Three sit for Hurricanes, Vasicek takes part in pregame skate

Lightning-Hurricanes, Sums

Tampa Bay 0 1 0-1

Carolina 1 1 0-2

First Period-1, Carolina, Stillman 19 (Cullen), 4:52. Penalties-Ranger, TB (holding stick), 7:37; Kaberle, Car (hooking), 15:05; A.Ward, Car (tripping), 18:41; Brind'Amour, Car (roughing), 18:59.

Second Period-2, Tampa Bay, St. Louis 25 (Sarich, Prospal), :26 (pp). 3, Carolina, Recchi 25 (LaRose, Tverdovsky), 8:48 (pp).

• Lightning-Hurricanes, Sums

Capitals 3, Hurricanes 1

Dynamic Alexander Ovechkin is finishing up his first NHL season in fine fashion. Maybe now, the Washington Capitals can do the same.

"Hard work, it's almost like our DNA now," Washington right wing Dainius Zubrus said. "We step on the ice, and one thing we're going to do is work hard. It starts from the older guys and works its way down."

All the way down to the rookie.

• Capitals 3, Hurricanes 1

Recchi gets first goal as Hurricane

Mark Recchi got his first goal for Carolina, Martin Gerber had 23 saves and the Hurricanes clinched a playoff spot with a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night.

Cory Stillman also scored as Carolina moved ahead of Nashville for the best home record in the NHL. This performance was much better than the one Saturday, when Washington dominated throughout and handed the Hurricanes only their second loss at the RBC Center since Feb. 10.

• Recchi gets first goal as Hurricane

Capitals-Hurricanes Preview

GAME: Washington Capitals (23-38-9) at Carolina Hurricanes (47-18-6).

TIME: Wednesday, 7 p.m. EST.

After earning their first playoff berth in four years their last time out, the Carolina Hurricanes look to clinch the Southeast Division title when they host the last-place Washington Capitals.

Martin Gerber made 23 saves as the Hurricanes beat Tampa Bay 2-1 on Monday to clinch a playoff spot for the first time since losing in the 2002 Stanley Cup finals.

• Capitals-Hurricanes Preview

Hurricanes 2, Lightning 1

The Carolina Hurricanes have much bigger goals than simply making the playoffs as they wrap up the best regular season in franchise history.

Still, qualifying for the postseason is the first step, one they officially took Monday night.

"Obviously, the goal is to win the Stanley Cup," coach Peter Laviolette said. "But there's a road that you have to go down to get there, and there's 82 games on it. You have to play all of them, and if you have to play them, you might as well win them.

• Hurricanes 2, Lightning 1

Carolina Hurricanes

The Carolina Hurricanes Hockey Club is a National Hockey League (NHL) team based in Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina, and is the city's only major league team.