GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NHL: WASHINGTON (5-8) at CAROLINA (8-6)

NHL: WASHINGTON at CAROLINA

<div class="pre">------------------------------------
Washington 0 0 0 --0
Carolina 3 1 1 --5
------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Carolina, Cory Stillman 6 (power play) (Rod
Brind'Amour, Ray Whitney), 4:23. 2, Carolina, Cory Stillman 7 (power
play) (Ray Whitney, Matt Cullen), 7:14. 3, Carolina, Cory Stillman 8
(Erik Cole, Eric Staal), 11:28. Penalties: C Stillman, Car (hooking),
1:34; M Jurcina, Was (holding), 4:19; A Ovechkin, Was (boarding),
6:56; C Larose, Car (slashing), 9:00; T Gleason, Car (major fighting),
11:05; M Bradley, Was (major fighting), 11:05.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 4, Carolina, Eric Staal 10 (power play) (Matt
Cullen, Justin Williams), 16:07. Penalties: M Nylander, Was
(hooking), 5:32; D Tanabe, Car (holding stick), 11:09; D Brashear, Was
(major boarding, misconduct), 13:18; O Kolzig, Was (tripping served by
B Laich), 18:04; E Cole, Car (holding), 19:34.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 5, Carolina, Eric Staal 11 (Cory Stillman, Tim
Gleason), 2:01. Penalties: M Jurcina, Was (tripping), 10:56.

Shots on goal:
---------------------------------------
Washington 19 5 11 --35
Carolina 10 11 12 --33
---------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: Washington - 0 of 4, Carolina - 3 of 7.
Goalies : Washington, Olaf Kolzig (24 shots, 19 saves; record: 4-6-0),
Brent Johnson (2:01 of 3rd period, 9, 9). Carolina, Cam Ward (35
shots, 35 saves; record: 7-2-2). A: 12,171. Referees: Dan Marouelli,
Dan O'Rourke. Linesmen: Dan Schachte, Jay Sharrers.</div>

 

NHL: WASHINGTON at CAROLINA

<div class="pre">-----------------------------------------
WASHINGTON 0 0 0 --0
CAROLINA 3 1 1 --5
-----------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Carolina, Cory Stillman 6 (power play) (Rod
Brind'Amour, Ray Whitney), 4:23. 2, Carolina, Cory Stillman 7 (power
play) (Ray Whitney, Matt Cullen), 7:14. 3, Carolina, Cory Stillman 8
(Erik Cole, Eric Staal), 11:28. Penalties: C Stillman, Car (hooking),
1:34; M Jurcina, Was (holding), 4:19; A Ovechkin, Was (boarding),
6:56; C Larose, Car (slashing), 9:00; T Gleason, Car (major fighting),
11:05; M Bradley, Was (major fighting), 11:05.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 4, Carolina, Eric Staal 10 (power play) (Matt
Cullen, Justin Williams), 16:07. Penalties: M Nylander, Was
(hooking), 5:32; D Tanabe, Car (holding stick), 11:09; D Brashear, Was
(major boarding, misconduct), 13:18; O Kolzig, Was (tripping served by
B Laich), 18:04; E Cole, Car (holding), 19:34.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 5, Carolina, Eric Staal 11 (Cory Stillman, Tim
Gleason), 2:01. Penalties: M Jurcina, Was (tripping), 10:56.

Shots on goal:
----------------------------------------
WASHINGTON 19 5 11 --35
CAROLINA 10 11 12 --33
----------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: WAS - 0 of 4, CAR - 3 of 7. Goalies :
Washington, Olaf Kolzig (24 shots, 19 saves; record: 4-6-0), Brent
Johnson (2:01 of 3rd period, 9, 9). Carolina, Cam Ward (35 shots, 35
saves; record: 7-2-2). A: 12,171. Referees: Dan Marouelli, Dan
O'Rourke. Linesmen: Dan Schachte, Jay Sharrers.

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER STATISTICS

WASHINGTON CAROLINA
G A +/- Shots G A +/- Shots
M Bradley 0 0 even 2 J Williams 0 1 even 2
B Gordon 0 0 even 2 E Staal 2 1 +2 5
B Sutherby 0 0 -2 0 R Whitney 0 2 even 4
M Pettinger 0 0 -1 2 R Brind'Amour 0 1 even 4
N Backstrom 0 0 -1 0 T Letowski 0 0 even 0
B Pothier 0 0 even 3 G Wesley 0 0 +1 0
B Laich 0 0 -1 2 M Commodore 0 0 even 1
M Jurcina 0 0 even 2 E Cole 0 1 +2 1
V Kozlov 0 0 even 4 C Adams 0 0 even 0
S Morrisonn 0 0 -2 1 D Seidenberg 0 0 +1 2
D Steckel 0 0 even 1 T Gleason 0 1 +1 2
J Erskine 0 0 -1 0 D Tanabe 0 0 even 0
T Fleischmann 0 0 even 2 F Kaberle 0 0 +1 2
M Green 0 0 -1 5 J Hamilton 0 0 even 1
J Schultz 0 0 even 1 C LaRose 0 0 even 2
A Ovechkin 0 0 even 5 B Hedican 0 0 even 1
D Brashear 0 0 even 1 C Stillman 3 1 +2 3
M Nylander 0 0 -1 2 M Cullen 0 2 even 3
N Wallin SHOULDER
K Aucoin HEALTHY</div>

 

By Joe Johnson
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


RALEIGH, North Carolina (Ticker) - The Carolina Hurricanes'power play has been lethal lately, and the Washington Capitalswere the most recent victims.


Cory Stillman scored a natural hat trick in the first 12 minutesand Eric Staal added a pair to lead Carolina to a 5-0 victoryMonday night.


Goaltender Cam Ward recorded his third career regular-seasonshutout - all against the Capitals - and fifth overall for theHurricanes.


Carolina has won five of its last seven games.


"The team's winning, we're producing, we have confidence, wehave confidence with the puck," Stillman said. "Then it ends upshowing on the stat sheet after you have a win."


Washington's troubles started early as defenseman Milan Jurcinaand left wing Alex Ovechkin picked up penalties in the firstseven minutes.


It took only four seconds into the first power play and 18seconds into the second for Stillman to convert. Carolina went3-of-7 on the man advantage while holding Washington to 0-of-4on the power play.


"They've got a very strong unit on the power play," Washingtonleft wing Matt Pettinger said. "We've struggled with ourdiscipline throughout the year. It was a tough game. It was atough start. They came out real strong."


Stillman became the second player in franchise history to recorda first-period hat trick. Ron Francis had the other in 1985,when the team was in Hartford, Connecticut and the Whalers beatMontreal, 11-6, in Patrick Roy's second game in goal for theCanadiens.


Stillman's first two goals came on the power play en route tohis fourth career hat trick. His last occurred on January 5,2002, against Dallas when he was with St. Louis.


The first goal came when Rod Brind'Amour won a faceoff and sentthe puck to Ray Whitney along the left boards, who fired it backto Brind'Amour and over to Stillman on the right side of thegoal. Stillman slapped a one-timer past Olaf Kolzig for a 1-0advantage 4:23 into the contest.


"We had sort of discussed it before the puck dropped on theplay," Stillman said. "I was more or less just told to go standover there. The other guys had said that, if we win the draw,this is what's going to happen. It worked."


Less than three minutes later, Stillman, who owns an eight-gamescoring streak, worked a give-and-go with Whitney and beatKolzig up the middle.


Stillman's last tally was perhaps the most impressive. On a2-on-1 break, Erik Cole faked a slap shot from the point andpassed to Stillman, who slipped the puck past Kolzig'soutstretched right leg as he was flying past the net.

"The power play was moving well and (Stillman) was on thereceiving end of some nice plays," Carolina coach PeterLaviolette said. "On any night I think it's anybody that canpop out."


After the game, Stillman said he could not remember his lastnatural hat trick.


Carolina, with the second-best power play in the NHL, has gottenmultiple goals with the man advantage in three of their lastfour games, each of which have ended in wins.


"Three power-play goals against took away some of our momentum,"Washington coach Glen Hanlon said. "I thought we had a goodstart to the game. We had a little miscue on the firstpower-play goal. The kills, the penalties set us back. I thinkwe certainly had opportunities not to be shut out. We hadopportunities to score."


Washington actually outshot the Hurricanes, 19-10, in the firstperiod. But Carolina's defense clamped down on the Capitals,holding Washington to 16 shots the rest of the way.

"It always seems like when I've got zeroes across the board thatone gets on me late," said Ward, who finished with 35 saves."I really wanted to bear down in the third period and reallyfinish the deal."


Ward did, but one of his toughest saves came in the first periodwhen he withstood a near point-blank shot from Ovechkin in theslot.


"It definitely helps the confidence to get into the game," Wardsaid. "You never want to start out with a 2-on-1 with one ofthe more dangerous guys in the league coming down on you, but ifyou make that save it definitely helps the confidence."

Staal became the first Carolina player to reach double digits ingoals, deflecting Matt Cullen's blast with less than fourminutes left in the second period. It also was on the powerplay after Washington's Donald Brashear picked up a majorboarding penalty and a game misconduct.


Staal's second goal came two minutes into the third period andit chased Kolzig, who faced 24 shots and made 19 saves. Kolziglost his third straight to fall to 4-6.


Kolzig did not get much help from his defense, however. TheCapitals are without blue-liners Steve Eminger, who has missedthe last 14 games, and Tom Poti, who was out with a groininjury.


Washington had shut out Carolina, 2-0, in their first meeting ofthe season on October 6. But since winning three straight tostart the season, the Capitals have lost nine of their last 11.

"Anytime you go on a streak like this losing, it's never fun,"Pettinger said. "It's still early but we have to do somethingto right this ship. It's tough to come back in this league."

Ovechkin almost hit Pettinger on the right cheek with a risingwrist shot midway through the second period. The Capitalsalready lost Chris Clark with an ear laceration after he wasstruck by an Ovechkin shot on Oct. 27.