Granted this was viewed from afar, but the Capitals needed another strong game after two days off to continue moving forward after snapping out of the December doldrums. They appeared to get just that on Sunday night in snow-covered Raleigh with a 3-2 win over the Hurricanes.

It was a contest spurned by strong even-strength play and another good showing by the penalty kill, which went a perfect 4 for 4 and held the Hurricanes to only two shots when they were on the man-advantage.

After a slightly sluggish start, Washington was able to do something not seen often lately by taking an initial lead when Mathieu Perreault flicked a shot past Cam Ward's blocker side after a pretty feed by Alexander Semin.

But unfortunately for Perreault that would be the only shot he'd take on the Carolina net. He left the game with 1:06 remaining in the first period after absorbing a hit by Tim Gleason that broke his visor. According to the team, Perreault has a broken nose and is day-to-day. His participation will depend on his ability to breathe.

Gleason received a five-minute penalty for charging and a 10-minute game misconduct on the play. It's a bad break for what had been a good stretch of games for Perreault, with three goals in four games with a plus-2 rating.

--There were some bounces that went against the Caps at RBC Center - see the puck bouncing off the boards directly to the faceoff circle for Tuomo Ruutu to fire in the net for the Hurricanes' second goal in the third period. But they also finally got some bounces that went their way, including when the puck ricocheted off a body in front and to Alex Ovechkin for his first goal since Dec. 6.

Much like Mike Green letting out a sigh after he snapped his goal-scoring drought against the Penguins, Ovechkin looked up after his tally as if to say, "Finally."

--Ovechkin also made a very nice play to pick up the loose puck in the neutral zone and turn the play in the opposite direction toward the Hurricane net in the second period. Ovechkin made a move to get himself around Carolina defender Jamie McBain, who had been stuck out late on a shift, and the puck slid into open ice where Steckel was able to corral it and let go of a shot that beat Ward glove-side to give the Caps a 2-1 lead.

--After the game, Coach Bruce Boudreau told reporters that the decision for a switch in net came because Michal Neuvirth was "sore after the warmup." Semyon Varlamov "went in and you just knew he was chomping at the bit because Neuvy had played the last three games," Boudreau said.

--I'll have more from KCI tomorrow where the Capitals are scheduled to practice in the morning.