Williams scores two goals as Hurricanes rock Caps

Justin Williams probably figured the high point of his week would have been scoring a goal in his first All-Star Game.

Turns out that was just the start.

Williams had two goals and an assist in his fourth multipoint game this season, and linemate Ray Whitney had four points last night in the Carolina Hurricanes' 6-2 victory over the visiting Washington Capitals.

"There's one word to describe it - it was awesome," Williams said. "I was just nonstop smiling the whole time I was [at the All-Star Game], and it was something I'll never forget . . . I felt good [in this game] but you've got to give a lot of credit to my linemates. I thought we moved the puck well, we supported each other well and Ray had a big night."

Whitney had a goal and three assists, and Rod Brind'Amour, Cory Stillman and Eric Staal also scored. The Hurricanes scored three goals in the second period and outshot the Capitals, 41-26, to snap a two-game losing streak.

"Skating well and getting on our power play was probably the biggest reason why we looked so much better in the second period than we did in the first," Whitney said.

Alexander Ovechkin scored his team-leading 30th goal and Chris Clark added a goal on a deflection for Washington, which has lost five of six and is one point ahead of last-place Florida in the Southeast Division.

Cam Ward made 24 saves for the Hurricanes, who took a 3-2 series lead against the Capitals. Brent Johnson stopped 35 shots for Washington but allowed at least six goals for the second time this season.

"It was just a lot of clutter. It didn't seem like anyone was getting pucks on sticks," Johnson said. "We were missing passes and they were jumping on us and beating us to the puck and capitalizing on our mistakes."

In other games:

* At Atlanta, Ilya Kovalchuk scored his second goal of the game with 2:01 left in overtime, giving the Thrashers a 5-4 victory over the New York Islanders.

* At St. Louis, Bill Guerin scored 1:09 into overtime to lift the Blues to a 2-1 victory over Detroit.

* At St. Paul, Minn., Pavol Demitra and Petteri Nummelin scored in the shootout to give the Minnesota Wild a 2-1 victory over the Calgary Flames.

* At Tampa, Martin Brodeur made 28 saves, extending his NHL record for consecutive 30-win seasons to 11, and the New Jersey Devils beat the Lightning, 2-0. Brian Gionta and Jay Pandolfo scored for the Devils, who are 11-1-2 over the last 14 games.

* At Columbus, Dan Fritsche jammed in a rebound on the second try midway through the third period for the decisive goal in the Blue Jackets' 3-2 victory over Buffalo.

* At Dallas, Erik Christensen scored the only goal in the shootout and Sidney Crosby had two assists as Pittsburgh beat the Stars, 4-3.

* At Chicago, Vernon Fiddler scored the winner with 2:21 left in the third period, and the Nashville Predators defeated the Blackhawks, 3-1.

* At Edmonton, Patrick Marleau had two goals and an assist and the San Jose Sharks beat the Oilers, 5-1.

* At Denver, Ladislav Nagy scored the only goal in the shootout, lifting the Phoenix Coyotes to a 5-4 victory over the Colorado Avalanche.

* At Vancouver, Alexander Frolov scored his second goal of the game 1:48 into overtime, and Sean Burke stopped 37 shots to lift Los Angeles to a 3-2 win over the Canucks.

* The Blue Jackets traded right wing Joe Motzko and center Mark Hartigan to the Anaheim Ducks, picking up center Zenon Konopka and left wing Curtis Glencross.

* Vancouver center Ryan Kesler will miss the rest of the regular season after having hip surgery scheduled for Monday. He has six goals and 10 assists in 48 games this season. *