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WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Ovechkin heard Capitals fans chanting Vladislav Namestnikov Jersey , “We want 50!” after scoring his 49th goal of the season.“Next game,” Ovechkin said.The next game could bring milestones for Ovechkin and Washington, which beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 Tuesday night to move to the verge of clinching a playoff berth. The defending Stanley Cup champions are a victory away from their 11th playoff appearance in the last 12 seasons.“That’s why we play 82 games, to clinch the playoffs,” Ovechkin said after adding to his NHL-leading goal total. “Both teams understand we need the points. I don’t know how the different teams played, I didn’t look at that, but that was important.”The Capitals beating the Hurricanes in regulation and results elsewhere made it a great night for Washington and a bad one for Carolina. The Columbus Blue Jackets’ defeat of the New York Islanders allowed the Capitals to extend their lead atop the Metropolitan Division to three points, and that Bobby Ryan Jersey , coupled with the Montreal Canadiens’ victory over the Florida Panthers, allowed those teams to gain ground on the Hurricanes.“You can’t look for help,” Hurricanes captain Justin Williams said. “That’s not the way you do it.You take care of your own business and if someone loses, great. But you go into everything assuming you need to win because every other team is going to win, too.”Looking for their fourth consecutive division title, the Capitals again came away with two points when there was a chance they’d fall into second place.“We don’t care too much about the standings,” said goaltender Braden Holtby, who made 27 saves. “We’re focused on trying to win a game http://www.officialsenators.com/authentic-adidas-chris-wideman-jersey , so we’re not letting anything get in our head, saying we must win this or that or whatever.”Ovechkin’s go-ahead goal 4:31 into the third period put him one away from joining Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy as the only players in league history with 50 in eight different seasons. With his 656th career goal, the Russian superstar tied Brendan Shanahan for 13th on the all-time list, but has to wait for No. 50 this season.“It would be nice to get it,” Ovechkin said. “But we still have five games. I have lots of chances to score tonight, but finally I get one because I think last couple games I didn’t use my chances. It was important goal and I’m happy with the win.”Countryman Evgeny Kuznetsov assisted on goals by T.J. Oshie, Ovechkin and John Carlson to give him three on his bobblehead night. Nicklas Backstrom added an empty-netter as Washington won its second consecutive game.“I wish every player on the team have a night like that,” Kuznetsov said. “Bobblehead is special. Of course Craig Anderson Jersey , when your organization does something for you and fans cheering for you, you want to give them back something. The best thing we give them the win.”The Hurricanes had their two-game winning streak snapped despite 24 saves from Petr Mrazek and a goal by Dougie Hamilton during a delayed penalty. Carolina still leads Montreal and Columbus in the race for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference, but a flat effort Tuesday didn’t help.“They were good. We were not,” coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “Put those two together, and we really had no chance in that game. That’s what it felt like the whole way.”NOTES: Oshie’s goal was his 23rd of the season. … Hamilton scored his second goal in four games. … Capitals D Michal Kempny missed his third consecutive game with a lower-body injury that could sideline him for the remainder of the season.UP NEXTThe Capitals open a three-game road trip when they visit the Hurricanes on Thursday in the second half of the teams’ home-and-home series. EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) Every time the San Jose Sharks fell behind Wednesday night, they fought right back.Tomas Hertl had two goals, including the game-winner 2:40 into overtime Authentic Erik Karlsson Jersey Kids , and the Sharks came back on three occasions to pull out a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.”The mentality all year has just been to stick with it,” said Brenden Dillon, who had a goal for San Jose. ”A big thing for us that we can kind of lean on is that we are a never-quit team and we were able to come back as the game went on.”Logan Couture also scored and added two assists for the Sharks, who have won two straight. San Jose is in second place in the Pacific Division, three points ahead of Los Angeles and Anaheim with 12 games remaining.”We are all watching the standings and there is not much room for error right now,” captain Joe Pavelski said. ”It is tight. We knew how important the points were tonight and it was a great job of the guys continuing to battle back. It was nice to get that extra point in overtime. It is really big for us right now.”Drake Caggiula, Oscar Klefbom and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had the goals for the Oilers (30-35-5), who lost their second in a row.”Just a few individuals with some tough nights that created some turnovers Jean-Gabriel Pageau Jersey ,” coach Todd McLellan said. ”Our backup goaltender gives us a performance like that, I thought we should be able to close it off.”Zack Kassian hooked a backhand pass from behind the net out front to Caggiula, who slipped a shot past Sharks goalie Martin Jones as Edmonton took the lead 2:39 into the first period.Hertl converted on a 2-on-1 break, beating Oilers backup Al Montoya for his 17th goal of the season to tie it eight minutes into the game.Klefbom put away a long point shot eight minutes into the second. The goal withstood a video review.San Jose tied it a couple of minutes later with Caggiula serving a double-minor when Couture moved in from the top of the circle and beat Montoya with a wrist shot for his 28th.Edmonton made it 3-2 early in the third when Nugent-Hopkins tipped in Klefbom’s shot for his 19th, with Connor McDavid getting his second assist of the night to give him 86 points on the season.San Jose evened it yet again nine minutes into the third on a long shot through traffic by Dillon.”I thought we got a little bit tired at the end,” McLellan said. ”Some guys have played a lot of hockey in the last few days and it showed a little bit at the end.”NOTES: San Jose won the season series 3-1 after losing to Edmonton in the first round of last year’s playoffs. … Klefbom returned to the lineup after missing the previous two games due to exploratory shoulder surgery. He is expected to be shut down for a more thorough procedure soon that will end his season. … Joel Ward (shoulder) and Joe Thornton (knee) sat out for the Sharks.UP NEXTSharks: At the Calgary Flames on Friday, the second stop on a three-game trip through Western Canada.Oilers: Begin a four-game road trip at Florida on Saturday.—