(Tuesday, March 3rd)

Final Score: Carolina 5, Washington 2

Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Patrick Eaves scored two goals, including one of Carolina's two shorthanded tallies, as the Hurricanes dominated the Washington Capitals, 5-2, at Verizon Center.

Matt Cullen had the other shorthanded goal for Carolina, and added a pair of assists. Eric Staal scored on a penalty shot, and Chad LaRose posted a goal and assist for the Hurricanes, who have won two of three.

Cam Ward turned aside 39 of the 41 shots he faced in the win.

"We understand this is their third game in four nights," Ward said of the Capitals. "They might have been a little bit tired. Either way, our guys worked extremely hard, and we capitalized on our opportunities. We put the puck in the net."

Alexander Semin and Sergei Fedorov had the goals for Washington, which came after Carolina had already built a 5-0 lead. The Capitals have lost their last two games and given up a total of 11 goals in those contests.

Michal Neuvirth surrendered all five goals on 30 shots in the loss.

After a nearly scoreless first period, Staal got Carolina on the board. He raced into the Washington end on a breakaway, but was brought down by the stick of a Capitals defenseman.

It caused a collision in the crease, forcing the goal off its moorings and a review, to see if Staal had scored anyway before the net came loose. It was ruled a no-goal, but Staal beat Neuvirth top shelf on his penalty shot to give Carolina a 1-0 lead with 34.6 seconds left in the first.

Cullen got the first of two consecutive shorthanded goals for the 'Canes 3:52 into the second period. With teammate Joni Pitkanen in the penalty box for boarding, Cullen slipped the puck past Neuvirth on a low shot from the slot.

"Shorthanded goals are special," Carolina head coach Paul Maurice said. "It does two things. It gives you a real jump on your bench, but it's against the other team's best offensive players and it takes a little wind out of their sails, too."

Then, at 7:42, Eaves had the puck in the left circle with Hurricanes center Rod Brind'Amour off on a tripping minor. Eaves skated toward the net and fired a shot in net by the right post to make it a 3-0 Carolina lead.

"If you look at the replay," Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau said of the shorthanded goals. "Our guys are skating around. (Defenseman) Mike Green was doing nothing. And (Alex Ovechkin) and...well, the whole crew was just skating around; when we saw the replay it was, again, not a pretty sight."

LaRose's goal with 3:36 remaining in the middle period upped the Hurricanes' lead to four, and Eaves' power-play tally with 1:55 left got it to 5-0.

With only three seconds left in the second period, Semin managed to score while shooting from his knees, getting Washington on the board.

But the Capitals didn't make another dent in their deficit until Fedorov scored with 1:46 left in the game, as Carolina held on for the win.

Game Notes

The Hurricanes activated forward Scott Walker from injured reserve Tuesday. He had been sidelined since January 27 with a concussion...Carolina snapped a two-game losing streak at Washington.

03/04 00:50:39 ET