WASHINGTON — Cam Ward recorded his second career regular-season shutout — both against Washington — and Justin Williams, Niclas Wallin and Andrew Ladd scored leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 3-0 win on Friday night.
Ward made 25 saves for the defending Stanley Cup champions, who entered the day in a three-way tie for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff berth with the idle Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers.
The Capitals have lost six consecutive games and 11 of 12. The Hurricanes had lost three of their previous four games, scoring only six goals in that span. The offense was a bit better — although Wallin's goal was an empty-netter with 29.9 seconds left — but credit goes to Ward and his defense for holding Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals in check.
RED WINGS 3, KINGS 2 (OT): At Detroit, Mikael Samuelsson's goal 3:26 into overtime completed a comeback and lifted Detroit over Los Angeles. It was Samuelsson's first game back after being out since late January with a broken bone in his foot. Pavel Datsyuk had a goal and an assist, and Brett Lebda also scored for Detroit. Dominik Hasek, who returned after missing three games with tightness in his thigh, made 24 saves. Raitis Ivanans and Brian Willsie scored for Los Angeles, and Sean Burke stopped 51 shots.
STARS 3, BLUE JACKETS 0: At Columbus, Ohio, Sergei Zubov, Niklas Hagman and Mike Ribeiro scored goals and Marty Turco posted his 29th career shutout to lead Dallas past Columbus. It was the 15th time Columbus has been shut out this season, extending a club record. Turco, who has been sharing time in goal for the Stars lately, had 30 saves in picking up his fifth shutout of the season. The Blue Jackets had won their past three games and Dallas had lost four in a row.
WILD 5, SABRES 1: At Buffalo, N.Y., third-string rookie goalie Josh Harding made 35 saves, and Dominic Moore scored twice to lift Minnesota over Buffalo. Pavol Demitra, Keith Carney and Todd White also scored for the Wild, who have gone 12-3-2 in their past 17 road games. Michael Ryan scored for the Sabres, who lost for the second consecutive time at home. Buffalo, the league's top-scoring team, has scored just six goals over the past three games.
DUCKS 5, OILERS 1: At Anaheim, Calif., Ryan Getzlaf had two goals and an assist, Corey Perry and Dustin Penner each had a goal and an assist, and Anaheim beat Edmonton for its fourth straight victory. Andy McDonald scored his 20th goal and Ilya Bryzgalov made 28 saves for the Pacific Division leaders, helping send Edmonton to its sixth straight loss. The Ducks have 41 victories and lead the division with 93 points. They are two wins and five points from equaling the franchise record both set last season.
Toby Petersen scored a short-handed goal for the Oilers, who have yet to win a game since trading Ryan Smyth to the New York Islanders on March 1. They faced the Ducks with five forwards and five defensemen sidelined by injuries, and dressed only 17 skaters.
CANUCKS 2, SHARKS 1 (OT): At San Jose, Calif., Henrik Sedin scored a breakaway goal with 1:30 left in overtime, and Roberto Luongo became Vancouver's single-season victories leader with 25 saves. Taylor Pyatt's goal early in the third period ended more than eight periods of scoreless hockey by Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov , but captain Patrick Marleau tied it with a snappy power-play goal with 6:58 left. Sedin then got a sharp pass from Kevin Bieksa and sneaked behind new Sharks defenseman Craig Rivet late in overtime, barely sliding the puck under Nabokov, who made 35 saves in an outstanding performance, as he sprawled on the ice.