ITPV » WASHINGTON (AP) For Washington star Alex Ovechkin

WASHINGTON (AP) For Washington star Alex Ovechkin Toronto Maple Leafs Hoodies Authentic , 50 goals is an annual target.For Jay Beagle, it’s a career benchmark worth celebrating.The fourth-line center put Washington ahead to stay with his landmark goal Friday night, and the Capitals continued their dominance against the Columbus Blue Jackets with a 4-2 victory.”I’ve never been a stats guy, but the guys made a big deal about it,” Beagle said. ”They were chirping me about it. I can’t repeat it.”Evgeny Kuznetsov and Lars Eller each had a goal and an assist as Washington swept a home-and-home with Columbus and won its sixth straight against the Blue Jackets dating to last season. John Carlson also scored and Braden Holtby made 35 saves.The Metropolitan Division leaders won for the fourth time in six games despite being outshot 37-17 by the visitors.”They pushed really hard at the end of the second, came after us, and we almost had to hold on,” Beagle said.Pierre Luc-Dubois and Artemi Panarin scored for the Blue Jackets, who have lost five straight. Columbus’ struggles on the penalty kill continued with Eller’s power-play goal, marking a seventh straight game allowing at least one.”There’s no sense in getting frustrated Toronto Maple Leafs Hats Authentic ,” Blue Jackets coach John Torotorella said. ”We’ve just got to work through it and just get ready for our next game.”Columbus quickly answered each of Washington’s first two goals, but the Capitals grabbed control over a 90-second stretch of the second period.Beagle got it started with the sixth goal of his 10th NHL season. He shoveled in the rebound of Chandler Stephenson’s shot off Sergei Bobrovsky’s pads to put Washington up 3-2 with 15:22 left in the period.Then Eller snuck a slap shot inside Bobrovsky’s near post as Washington caught Columbus taking a chance on a short-handed break.”Every time the other team has three guys up the ice on the penalty kill, if they miss, then you know you’re going to have an odd-man rush the other way,” Eller said. ”So I was just being patient.”Washington went without a shot for the rest of the period, but escaped with its 4-2 lead intact, thanks partly to defenseman Matt Niskanen’s goal-line block on a penalty kill in the final minute before intermission.”I didn’t even know he got it or anything,” Holtby said. ”I was scrambling.”NOTES: Columbus D Zach Werenski staggered off the ice late in the second after he appeared to get kicked accidentally in the thigh or groin by Washington’s T.J. Oshie. Werenski returned in the third. … Capitals LW Andre Burakovsky was a healthy scratch. He has a cumulative plus-minus rating of minus-4 over the last five games. … The United Arab Emirates women’s national hockey team was honored on the ice prior to the opening faceoff. … Washington acquired RW Adam Chapie and LW Joe Whitney from the New York Rangers in exchange for C John Albert and D Hubert Labrie. Chapie and Whitney will report to Hershey of the AHL.UP NEXTBlue Jackets: Host New Jersey on Saturday.Capitals: Host Detroit on Sunday. RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes have skated their way out of being tied for last place into playoff contention — all in just six weeks.They have been the NHL’s best team since Dec. 30, going 14-5-1 in that stretch while making an improbable push to snap the league’s longest active postseason drought.The Hurricanes entered Thursday night’s games three points out of a playoff spot with 25 games remaining Custom Toronto Maple Leafs Jerseys , a stretch run that starts Friday night when Edmonton visits.“The important thing is, playoff teams get it,” captain Justin Williams said Thursday. “We’re doing what’s necessary right now. We know where we are. All we need to do is keep winning and not worry about what’s going on above us.”As much progress as the Hurricanes have made lately, there’s still so much further to go to reach the postseason for the first time since 2009 and only the second time since winning the Stanley Cup in 2006.Not long ago, they seemed destined to set an NHL record for futility by going 10 straight seasons without making the playoffs.And they still might. But at least for now, they’ve made things interesting.They were tied with New Jersey and Philadelphia for last in the division on Dec. 30 with 35 points, and were one point better than Ottawa for last in the Eastern Conference.In a relatively short period of time, though, the Hurricanes have figured things out and have become pretty tough to beat. They’ve earned 29 points in that time span, one more than the New York Islanders and two more than St. Louis.And most recently www.officialcanucks.com , they went 4-1 on a five-game road trip. The last time that happened was in 1998, when PNC Arena was still under construction and the Hurricanes were playing their home games in Greensboro.“It was a big road trip, and we’re doing what we need to do right now,” Williams said, “which is banking wins and seeing what happens.”The offense appears to have found its scoring touch, with an NHL-best 76 goals over that 20-game span. Sebastian Aho has 25 points — nine goals, 16 assists — during the team’s hot streak while linemate Teuvo Teravainen has 22 — nine goals, 13 assists.And Nino Niederreiter has fit right in with his new team, racking up 10 points in 11 games since he was acquired from Minnesota in a trade for Victor Rask.And with the league’s trading deadline Feb. 25, the big question remains whether the Hurricanes will be buyers or sellers.Micheal Ferland Vancouver Canucks T-Shirts Authentic , acquired in a blockbuster offseason trade with Calgary, is due to become an unrestricted free agent July 1, so naturally, trade rumors have surrounded him. But it might be worth it to Carolina to keep the hard-hitting forward with 15 goals and 16 assists for the stretch run — and perhaps try to sign him to a contract extension.“I’d like to get a deal done, obviously,” Ferland said. “We’ve put ourselves in a good spot, trying to get into the playoffs. I’d like to stay here and help this team.”