The Carolina Hurricanes managed to extend their point streak to six games and headed to overtime for the fifth straight game, but came up one point short. Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin took a pass from forward Evgeny Kuznetsov and fired it past Canes starter Eddie Lack to lift the Capitals (50-14-5) over the Hurricanes (31-26-13).

There was certainly an element of controversy to this one, as a video review of the game winner appeared to show Kuznetsov clearly offsides entering the Canes zone, but the goal call was upheld, much to the dismay and confusion of the Hurricanes. With every point being crucial right now, that one could really end up hurting in the end.

A scoreless first period saw the Capitals have the better of the play, getting several quality chances including a shot off the goal post by forward Jason Chimera and a puck that Lack barely managed to cover along the goal line. However, the Swedish netminder was excellent in the opening frame, and the Canes escaped with a score tied at zero.

The Canes continued to chase the play early in the second, and the Capitals wasted little time getting on the board. Chimera sent a pass to the front out of the corner that former Hurricane Justin Williams tipped in for a 1-0 Washington lead a minute and a half into the period.

The Canes managed to tie things up about halfway through the period, as forward Jordan Staal made a beautiful play, using his strength to fight off to a defender, grab a loose puck and fire it top-shelf past Holtby for his 18th goal of the season.

The Canes found themselves in a tough situation as defenseman Michal Jordan was called for tripping late in the period, but the penalty came up huge, sending the game to the second intermission tied at one.

Rookie forward Brody Sutter came inches from breaking the tie and potting his first NHL goal about eight minutes into the third, but rifled a shot off the crossbar, keeping the game tied at one.

There were a few tense moments the rest of the third, but the Canes did a good job striking a balance of pushing for the tie-breaking goal and not taking any unnecessary risks in order to assure they reached overtime for the fifth straight game, extending the team’s point streak to six games before Ovechkin’s controversial winner.

The team will continue its five-game road trip Thursday night with a key matchup in Pittsburgh against the Penguins.