WASHINGTON, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Jeff Skinner tied the game in the third period Thursday and then won it 1:20 into overtime, lifting Carolina over Washington 4-3.
Skinner wound up with a hat trick in boosting the Hurricanes to their second win in a row. The Capitals have lost three straight.
The only first-period goal came from Skinner, but Alex Ovechkin tied it less than a minute deep in the second with his 32nd of the campaign.
Manny Malhotra put the Hurricanes back in front only to have goals by Troy Brouwer and Steve Okesky 52 seconds apart push Washington into the lead.
Skinner then completed a five-goal second period with a slap shot that tied it at 3-3. The five goals in the middle stanza came in the first 4:34 of the period. Skinner ran his season goal total to 19 with the winning goal against Philipp Grubauer.
The victory went to Anton Khudobin, who made his first start since Oct. 13. He stopped 38 shots. Grubauer made 29 saves in defeat.
