Hurricanes overwhelm Capitals

The Washington Capitals ran into a Carolina buzzsaw last night and lost both the game and one of their prized forwards.

Playing a patient game designed to take advantage of quick transitions off turnovers, the Hurricanes scored a pair of power-play goals in rapid succession in the second period and rolled to a 4-1 victory, John Grahame’s shutout spoiled only by Richard Zednik’s power play tally midway through the third.

Erik Cole, who recorded a hat trick the first time the teams met this season, had a goal and three assists last night while veteran Rod Brind’Amour scored twice.

Left wing Alexander Semin was injured in the second period and it was unclear if he would even make the trip to Boston for a game against the Bruins tonight. Semin scored eight goals in his first seven games this season but now finds himself in a 12-game drought.

The Caps refused to say where Semin’s injury was, but general manager George McPhee said it was likely there would be call-ups. Right wing Chris Clark is also out with injuries.

It was also unclear when Semin was hurt. He was not on the bench for the third period but did skate on the next-to-the-last shift of the second and did not seem to be hurt. He was seen in the dressing room area after the game walking around with no visible ailment but that did not rule out arm or shoulder injuries.

After a listless first period in which neither team threatened, the Hurricanes got down to basics. Washington took four straight penalties in the middle period and Carolina turned two into scores. Fans expressed their displeasure loudly.

Three of Washington’s four lines were reconfigured with Clark out and new players added. It was almost like playing with strangers.

“It’s not a matter that the lines are different, everybody’s got to step up,” center Brian Sutherby said. “Not having Clark is a big loss and guys have to step up for his absence.”

Not enough did.

It was a loss of even more significance for Alex Ovechkin, who played in his 100th NHL game last night. He was wearing a symbol of his rising stature with the team and the league for the first time, an “A” on his sweater indicating he had been named an alternate captain with Clark, the team captain, sidelined.

“Not a good game for our team,” he said. “We didn’t control puck, we have lots of penalty and didn’t play very well in the second period. They score two goal and they win game in second period.”