WITH ONE OF their cornerstones playing like this, the Carolina Hurricanes certainly didn't miss their other one.
Eric Staal stayed on his scoring tear with two goals and an assist, and Justin Peters cruised to his first NHL shutout in the Hurricanes' 5-0 rout of the reeling Washington Capitals last night in Raleigh.
Justin Faulk and Anthony Stewart scored in an 88-second span and Andreas Nodl added a goal during Carolina's three-goal first period.
"I felt like we really initiated the game, right from the beginning, from the first shift . . . and from then on out, we really controlled it and didn't really give them anything," Staal said. "And when we did, Petey was solid. That's just a good, solid effort by everybody."
Peters needed to make just 17 saves to win his second straight start while filling in for Cam Ward, an All-Star in 2011 who was out with an undisclosed lower body injury.
"It was a lot of fun to watch," Peters said. "Me getting the shutout, I'm just the beneficiary of the effort that these guys put in. I can't say enough about the effort."
Hurricanes coach Kirk Muller said he hopes Ward can return to play against Anaheim on Thursday night - but that doesn't seem to be quite as imperative now that Peters has been solid.
"It's nice to know that [from] a confidence level, whomever we slide in there, we now know that we have a chance to win," Muller said. "That's all we ask of our goalies - give us a chance to win every night. [Peters] did his job."
Jiri Tlusty had two assists, giving him points in a team-best eight straight games. The Hurricanes led 4-0 after 40 minutes and won their third in four games, improving to 11-3-1 in their last 15 at home.
Tomas Vokoun allowed two goals on seven shots before he was pulled at 5:09. Michal Neuvirth made 30 saves but gave up the final three goals.
The Capitals have lost five of six, and in two visits to Carolina since coach Dale Hunter took over for Bruce Boudreau, they have been outscored 8-0.
"Normally, you can try and take some positives out of games," Capitals right wing Troy Brouwer said. "Tonight, nothing. You can't wipe it clean because you have to take it in, make sure you know what you're doing wrong, make sure you know why you lost."
In another game:
* At Uniondale, N.Y., Erik Karlsson and Jason Spezza each scored twice, Craig Anderson made 28 saves and the Ottawa Senators beat the Islanders, 6-0, for their third straight win. The Senators moved within two points of first-place Boston in the Northeast Division and one point behind Pittsburgh and the Flyers for fifth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
The Detroit Red Wings have put goaltender Ty Conklin on waivers. If Conklin isn't claimed by noon today, he will be assigned to the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins.
