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Saturday, Oct. 7 7:00pm ET
Carolina gets 2 goals from Kapanen | |||||
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BOX SCORE
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- The new-look Carolina Hurricanes had a tough time dealing with prosperity. Richard Zednik scored with 1:47 left in regulation as the Washington Capitals twice rallied to tie Carolina 3-3 Saturday night. The revamped Hurricanes suited up eight new players for their season-opener, but blew a 2-0 lead and were just 1-for-9 on the power play. "We didn't finish and we just seemed to get into a rut," Carolina captain Ron Francis said of the problems with the man advantage. "We weren't comfortable and confident, and we were starting to force things. "We didn't make the proper adjustments at the right time and it ultimately cost us the hockey game -- our lack of production in that area." The draw extended Carolina's NHL-best unbeaten string in overtime to 19 straight (4-0-15), but was hard to accept after Sami Kapanen scored his second goal with 10:42 left to seemingly put the Hurricanes in control. "We couldn't get anything going on the power play," defenseman Glen Wesley said. "We seemed to get in the zone and they threw it back down 200 feet. That probably got us more frustrated than anything and took us away from the way we wanted to play." Zednik poked his game-tying goal past Arturs Irbe as the Capitals salvaged the tie following Friday night's 4-1 loss to Los Angeles in their season-opener. "I had the puck between my legs and I took a whack at it and the next thing I know I saw the red light go on," Zednik said of his wraparound goal. "When Zed's on the ice, he scares a few defensemen because he can beat you one-on-one, he's so powerful," said Washington coach Ron Wilson. Kapanen, an all-star last year, opened the Carolina scoring 3:20 into its opener against the defending Southeast Division champions, then made it 3-2 off a perfect pass from Rod Brind'Amour for his first two-goal game since last Nov. 27 against Pittsburgh. Shane Willis, who scored 35 goals in the International League last season, also had a goal and two assists for his first NHL points. The Capitals were outshot 7-0 in the early going, but stormed back from a 2-0 deficit to tie it late in the second period. Washington's Joe Reekie blocked close-in shots by Kevin Hatcher and Willis early in the game before the puck squirted free and Kapanen blasted it past Craig Billington to make it 1-0. The Hurricanes took a two-goal lead early in the second when Willis took a feed from Kapanen with 35 seconds left on a power play and blasted his first NHL goal high over Billington's stick from his off wing. Hatcher assisted on the first two goals in his first game with the Hurricanes. But Willis' goal was the lone bright spot for Carolina's power play, which was ninth in the league a season ago but couldn't muster much offense Saturday. "Ten minutes into the game, I was a little concerned because we were playing just like we played last night," Wilson said. "A couple of penalty kills got us on track." The Capitals got back in the game with a pair of power-play goals. Less then two minutes after Willis' goal, Peter Bondra poked his first of the season past Irbe. Six seconds after Wesley's boarding penalty gave Washington a two-man advantage with 47 seconds left in the second, Steve Konowalchuk scored on a rebound. The Hurricanes were further disadvantaged on the play when Brind'Amour lost his stick after the faceoff and was scrambling to pick it up and cover Konowalchuk in the slot when he scored. Game notesKapanen also scored in Carolina's season-opener last year, a 3-1 victory at Boston. ... High-scoring defenseman Sergei Gonchar signed with Washington this week, but sat out his second game until he gets in better game shape.... High-price free agent Sandis Ozolinsh didn't score for Carolina, but logged 29 minutes, 51 seconds. .... Carolina led the NHL with the fewest penalty minutes last year, but took seven minors against Washington for 14 minutes. .... The Carolina franchise has won only five season-openers in 22 years. | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard Washington Clubhouse Carolina Clubhouse RECAPS NY Rangers 2 Atlanta 1
Washington 3
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