Capitals 3, Hurricanes 2: Mike Ribeiro scored with 2:16 remaining in the third period and captain Alex Ovechkin had a goal and an assist as visiting Washington erased a two-goal deficit and snapped a three-game losing streak.

After Ovechkin's breakaway shot slid behind goaltender Dan Ellis, Ribeiro tapped the puck just over the goal line as the Capitals moved within eight points of first-place Carolina in the Southeast Division. Joey Crabb also scored and Michal Neuvirth made 36 saves for Washington, which improved to 9-5-0 when Ovechkin records a point.

Alexander Semin and Patrick Dwyer scored first-period goals and Ellis stopped 22 shots for the Hurricanes, who had won six of their previous seven games - including a 4-0 victory at Washington on Tuesday.

Semin began the scoring when he worked his way to the front of the net and took a pass from captain Eric Staal before easily beating Neuvirth with the first shot of the game at 1:14. Dwyer made it 2-0 as he redirected defenseman Tim Gleason's pass from the point while positioned high in the slot at 8:17.

Crabb cut the lead in half when he converted Aaron Volpatti's pass from the doorstep at 5:56 of the second period. Ovechkin tied it with a power-play goal 61 seconds into the third - his 700th career point - after taking a nifty feed from Troy Brouwer, who had drawn two defenders to him.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Carolina's line of Staal, Semin and Jiri Tlusty has combined for 13 goals and 26 assists in the last eight games. ... Ovechkin, who snapped a three-game pointless streak, has 349 goals and 351 assists. He also scored against Carolina for the first time in 10 contests. ... The Capitals and Hurricanes meet two more times.