Capitals lose two leads as Svechnikov lifts Carolina to 4–2 win

Washington twice held the lead in Raleigh on Tuesday, but Carolina supplied the final three goals and beat the Capitals 4–2 at Lenovo Center. Andrei Svechnikov broke a third-period tie on the power play before Mark Jankowski added an empty-net goal with 1:27 remaining.

The decisive sequence came after Justin Sourdif’s tripping penalty at 13:49 of the third. Svechnikov scored at 13:56, leaving Washington 6:04 to answer. The Capitals had reached the last period level despite Carolina’s heavier shooting load; the late penalty gave the Hurricanes the opening that settled the game.

Boone Jenner opened the scoring at 9:26 of the first period, with Ryan Leonard supplying the assist. Svechnikov equalized at 3:58 of the second, but Justin Holl restored Washington’s advantage at 6:39. Eric Robinson brought Carolina back to 2–2 at 18:49, erasing the second lead shortly before intermission.

Carolina’s official postgame report described Robinson’s centering pass redirecting off a Washington stick and through Logan Thompson. The same report described Svechnikov finding space near the net for the eventual winner, taking Nikolaj Ehlers’ pass and finishing with a backhand. Those two moments turned Washington’s narrow advantage into a chase.

Thompson finished with 31 saves on 34 shots against. Carolina’s 35th shot was Jankowski’s empty-net finish. Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 20 of Washington’s 22 shots, and the 35–22 team shot margin underscores how much work Washington’s goaltender absorbed to keep the game within reach.

Leonard assisted on both Capitals goals, with Dylan Strome also credited on Holl’s score. Holl logged 12:05 and supplied a goal from the defense; Martin Fehérváry led Washington in ice time at 24:33. Alex Ovechkin finished without a point in 13:02.

Washington’s postgame comments put the shot imbalance in sharper focus. “they keep us hemmed in our zone,” Thompson said in an interview published by the Capitals, describing the difficulty of playing against Carolina. He credited Washington’s penalty killers while acknowledging that sustained defensive pressure can lead to penalties.

Holl identified the stretch when the game began to change: “they started tilting the ice on us in the latter half of that second period.” He said that pressure continued into the third. Washington’s second lead had disappeared before the intermission, leaving another period of work against a team that was gathering momentum.

Strome described Washington as relying too heavily on Thompson, “making him make great save after great save.” His assessment joined the need for cleaner exits to the need to sustain offensive pressure. On discipline, his message was direct: “we gotta stay out of the box.”

Those remarks connect the final score to the work between the goals. Jenner and Holl supplied two leads, but Washington could not keep Carolina from pushing the game back toward its own end. Thompson kept the result within reach; the Capitals needed more relief in front of him to make those leads last.